Whole New World
by Kaiphantom
Summary: After Jusenkyo, Ranma gets drawn into a world that is not like his own, on the promise of a cure to his curse. Pokebattles, Peekabus, Pidgys and Growlies; Oh My!
1. Prolouge

E-mail me at: oddball22@hotmail.com  
  
DISCLAIMER: As much as I wish it were so, the Ranma 1/2 crew ain't mine.  
Other characters may appear that aren't mine either. And yet more types  
of characters may appear, that are incredibly similar to characters  
others have created. I'm just adding my take on the situation!  
  
------------------------------  
  
What is the impact of one person's decision on history? And how can one  
cope when all they know, has been changed so radically that very little  
makes sense anymore? And what if this new place they find themselves in,  
challenges the ideas and notions that they have been raised with and  
find comfort in?  
  
Life can take interesting and different directions at will. Sometimes  
the choice is voluntary, and sometimes it is not. Sometimes, life heads  
in a direction that we could never forsee. In these situations, we can  
stubbornly cling to our ideals or we can try to adapt.  
  
This is not as easy as it may seem. Based on the degree of the change,  
it may be very difficult indeed. Therein lies the challenge, when one  
finds oneself in a position where one's notions of how the world works  
are dramatically different, to be able adapt and grow despite the  
circumstances and one's prejudices.  
  
Because now, someone is about to discover that things are no longer as  
they seem. Someone, is about to discover a Whole New World...  
  
------------------------------  
  
  
Ranma1/2  
Whole New World  
Prologue  
  
  
  
  
The rusty iron door groaned loudly as it was forced back into  
use after many years of inaction. As it continued to swing open, the  
glow of daylight slowly bathed what was concealed inside, with it's warm  
luminescence.  
  
A figure appeared in the doorway, partially blocking out the  
sun's rays. As he stepped inside, the light played upon his features to  
reveal a middle-aged man in a white labcoat, loosely draped over a  
casual blue T-shirt and tan pants. His short, light brown hair swayed  
little in the afternoon breeze, and he smiled in contentment at his  
discovery.  
  
"Well, this is appears to be it," the professor remarked to  
himself as he studied the various objects in the room, covered with a  
thick blanket and a good layer of dust. He took a step inside and  
brought a small object up to his mouth, clicking a button on it as he  
did so.  
  
"Professor Kao's log, March 8th, 2282," he spoke into the mini-  
recorder. "I have finally found what appears to be one of the labs I was  
looking for, hidden away in a remote rock outcropping in what used to be  
known as `China'. Just inside the door is a small storage room, holding-  
" he lifted up a section of the blanket, "boxes of tools and other  
assorted devices."  
  
Dropping the blanket forced the dust into the air, and the  
professor was compelled to pause his recording and step back outside  
until his coughing fit subsided, then turned the mini-recorder back on.  
  
"Note to self: Do not disturb dust."  
  
Five minutes later, Kao had re-entered and moved to the door on  
the opposite side of the room. "Continuing exploration," he dictated to  
the small machine as he stepped through the smaller door. "Am now moving  
through a hallway that slants downward at a 45 degree angle. If not for  
my helmet light, it would be impossible to see in here. The dust coating  
suggests there hasn't been anyone alive down here for a hundred years or  
so. A few utility rooms line the hallway, but nothing out of the  
ordinary yet."  
  
He temporarily stopped the recording, in order to fish a hand-  
held flashlight out of his pack. With a flick of his wrist, the darkened  
hallway became twice as bright as before, but he found it was still hard  
to see.  
  
The dictation resumed as the path turned a corner. "Hallway now  
is level, though I estimate my current position to be at least a hundred  
feet underground." He paused while his hand-held flashlight illuminated  
a small sign that identified the owner of the complex, and chuckled to  
himself. "Well doctor, it appears I won our little bet. This lab does  
belong to who I thought it did. Or did at one point, a long time ago.  
You said they were all destroyed, but I knew there had to be one more.  
All the old text I went over that wasn't lost in the conflicts following  
the war, led me to believe he had a `last resort' plan, and I knew he'd  
need someplace to launch it from."  
  
The professor stopped again, having reached the end of the  
hall. He was now confronted with a pair of double doors, but there were  
no visible handles to open them.  
  
"This is most curious," he mumbled to himself while shining the  
flashlight all around. He eventually settled on a panel next to the  
door. "Of course! Not all doors would be manual in a high-tech lab." His  
inquisitiveness piqued, Professor Kao reached out and punched the top  
button on the panel, expecting nothing to happen.  
  
Which was why he was taken by surprise when a faint humming  
noise began to emanate from somewhere, and several lights to blink on  
overhead in the once-dark hallway. As he searched around wildly for the  
source of the change, the double-door that had impeded his progress,  
slid open with a low hiss.  
  
The perplexed professor scratched his head. "Well I'll be a  
Maureen's uncle. Must have been the `on' button."  
  
  
  
  
Deep underground, many levels deeper than Professor Kao's  
location, a powerplant that had been set at minimal levels began to  
power up in response to the signals received from it's host computer. A  
function had been activated at a higher level, demanding more power than  
was available. That meant someone, or something, had flicked a switch or  
pressed a button requiring power.  
  
The host computer, in addition to powering up the cold-fusion  
plant, also sent out a series of pre-programmed instructions to two  
other areas. In one of those areas, a room filled with twelve large,  
white egg-like capsules sat in relative darkness, until the increased  
energy pulses from the core lit it up. One by one, the capsules'  
individual computers received the specialized instructions, and began  
their release procedures.  
  
After a few minutes were spent running through several cycles,  
the eggs began to crack open, and something stepped out.  
  
  
  
  
"I'm now in what appears to be a main computer terminal room,"  
Kao continued. "It's about 10-12 feet in height, and about 50 feet from  
wall to wall. Inlaid in the opposite wall from the entryway, lies a  
large monitor that stretches to the ceiling, and various electrical  
panels. Various box-like computer apparatuses line the walls." He  
grinned. "Oh doctor, if you could see this now! All this lostech, that  
has been sitting down here for who knows how long. Most likely before  
the Great War!"  
  
As he approached the terminal, the professor released the  
record button on his recorder, trying to make sense of the flashing  
lights on the console. Most of the overhead lights in this room were  
broken, so the only light came from the entryway and his own two  
flashlights. He set down his hand-held one, pointing it upwards, then  
located a keyboard and hit a few keys. Abruptly, a smaller screen in  
front of the keyboard began to warm up, displaying a single word.  
  
INITIALIZING...  
  
This went on for a minute, before the screen changed again and  
a flat female voice began to speak.  
  
"Welcome Professor, how was your sleep?"  
  
Kao grinned. "Hmmm, a voice activated computer! How  
fascinating!"  
  
"Voice pattern does not match with record on file," the almost-  
mechanical voice replied. "Some degradation has occurred and several  
files were corrupted as a result. Are you a previously-registered user?"  
  
Kao looked left and right, then coughed once. "Um, yes I am."  
[What it doesn't know what hurt me...]  
  
"Voice pattern registered," the voice informed him after a few  
seconds. "Access set to level one. Further authority will only be  
granted by command of User-One. Do you wish a status update?"  
  
"By all means!" the professor replied. [This is most fascinating  
indeed! User-One must the one who set all this up. But why is it still  
running? If I am right that User-One is still alive, what is he up to?]  
  
The black screen lit up with the following information.  
  
PERCENTAGE OF BIO UNITS POPULATING PLANET: 76.8%  
  
PERCENTAGE OF NON-BIO UNIT THREATS REMOVED: 98.2 %  
  
DO YOU WISH TO SEARCH RESULTS? Y/N  
  
Kao scratched his head once more, then replied, "Yes." The  
computer went through several more calculations, then came with a  
flashing cursor.  
  
"Please enter search parameters," the pleasant female voice  
requested.  
  
"Search parameters?" Kao thought for a moment, then entered in  
his own name using the keyboard keys. He blinked in surprise at what the  
computer brought up.  
  
NAME: PROFESSOR DAVID KAO  
OCCUPATION: RESEARCHER  
THREAT LEVEL: MINIMAL  
  
It went on from there, listing his papers, research topics, all  
the professional and public knowledge that was known about him. He was  
dumbstruck at the fact that someone had assembled all this information,  
and wondered what purpose it served. But most of all, he wondered what  
the threat level meant.  
  
"Do you wish to do another search?" came the voice again.  
  
"Sure, why not?" He was about to search for information about  
his priority research topic, when he was struck by another idea.  
  
Some years ago, the doctor that he frequently corresponded with  
had made a request. It seemed that an acquaintance the doctor knew, had  
grown quite lonely and depressed ever since her son and husband had  
disappeared. Supposedly, they had just gone on a training trip, but were  
never heard from again. Kao didn't have any information for the doctor,  
but he promised that if he ever came across any knowledge about them, he  
would relay it.  
  
Hesitating for a moment while he recalled the name, Kao began  
to type:  
  
ENTER SEARCH PARAMETERS: SAOTOME_  
  
"Searching..." the voice  
  
Again, it took the computer about a minute, before information  
was relayed to the screen.  
  
TWO SUBJECTS RELOCATED.  
  
Kao started at this. [Relocated?] he wondered. [What does that  
mean?] Curious, he probed for more info.  
  
"I'm sorry, you do not have proper authority for such an  
action," The voice told him in a pleasant voice.  
  
"Well, let's see about that," Kao mumbled, then lifted the  
keyboard to work on the connections underneath.  
  
"What are you doing, Dave?"  
  
The professor whistled innocently. "Oh, nothing. Just giving  
you a tune-up."  
  
"I don't know, I'm afraid..."  
  
Kao tweaked a few more connections.  
  
"Oh my, I feel strange..."  
  
*Flip* *Switch* *Pop*  
  
"Heehee! That tickles professor!"  
  
*Snap* *Grind*  
  
"Ooooohhh, yeaaaaaahh. That feeeeels goooood..."  
  
Kao blinked. "Interesting."  
  
*Click* *Click* *Snap!*  
  
He finally replaced the keyboard. "There, that should do it.  
How do you feel?"  
  
"Oh, professor, you sure know how to make a gal feel gooood!"  
the computer said in a throaty, seductive voice.  
  
"Ahem, yes," Kao coughed into his hand and blushed, despite  
himself. "Now about that access?"  
  
"Anything for you, cutie pie!"  
  
The professor sweat-dropped, but felt relieved when new words  
popped up onto the screen.  
  
SUBJECTS HAVE BEEN RELEGATED TO NON-THREAT STATUS. DO YOU WISH  
TO RETRIEVE? Y/N  
  
Kao stared dumbfounded at the monitor, before blurting out,  
"Yes! By all means!"  
  
"Awww, you sure know how to sweet talk a feminine AI!" Kao  
almost the computer was blushing, but decided it just must be the lights  
playing tricks on his eyes. "One Spatial Special comin' up!!!"  
  
CALCULATING SOLAR FLARE TRAJECTORY...  
  
Before the professor could realize what this meant, a large  
section of the right wall slid open, revealing a strange circular stone  
ring that began to rotate. It would stop every so often, and a section  
of the outer ring would `lock-on' to one of the strange symbols adorning  
the inner, rotating ring. After nine such symbols had been recorded, a  
wave of what looked like water exploded horizontally from the ring.  
  
This caused the startled professor to backpedal, as he had been  
trying to get a closer look. Once the fluidic substance had been drawn  
back towards the large ring, Professor Kao realized that it now looked  
like the surface of pool of water, held vertically inside the ring.  
  
"What in Megami-sama's name is that?" he wondered aloud, before  
a beeping from the computer drew his attention.  
  
What he saw on the large monitor, confused him all over again.  
  
  
  
  
"Stupid old man," the young girl groused as she poured a heated  
kettle of water over her head. She grew taller and lost some curves, and  
then he finished dressing in his new clothes. He had picked them up in  
the last town, but didn't want to wear them until their trip was done.  
The gi was fine enough for training, but this latest fracas had played  
down to his last nerve. "Being a panda suits him."  
  
As he shouldered his pack and prepared to go find his father, a  
large circular vortex faded into existence ten feet away. He stopped and  
stared at the phenomenon.  
  
"What the-?"  
  
In the lab, the professor was startled to hear the boy on the  
monitor speak. He was even more amazed as the girl became a boy.  
Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to see if communication  
was two-way. "Hello? This is Professor Kao. May I ask your name?"  
  
"Uh, Ranma Saotome," the boy replied, then blinked. "Wait a  
minute, what are you? And what is that thing?"  
  
"I assume you're referring to the portal," the professor told  
him. "I believe it to be a miniature wormhole of sorts, to transport  
things from one location to another rapidly."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma offered intelligently.  
  
The professor blinked. "You know, a transportation vortex."  
  
Ranma scratched his head. "Uhhhh..."  
  
"It's a magic tunnel," Kao deadpanned.  
  
"Oh, okay! Why didn't you say so in the first place!" Scientific  
stuff was weird, but Ranma knew what magic could do.  
  
"I'm curious, did I just see you change from a girl to a boy?  
Which are you really?"  
  
Of course, the automatic response was, "I'm a guy! It's a  
stupid curse that changes me into a girl with cold water. I just found  
out that hot water changes me back."  
  
"Fascinating," the professor replied. As a scientist, this was  
most intriguing to him. "Say, I've got an in idea. Apparently you don't  
seem to like your... condition. I've researched genetics, and if I  
examine you, I might be able to reverse this and change you back to  
normal, permanently. All you have to do is step through the portal." Of  
course, he was more than eager to study Ranma as well, but he didn't say  
this.  
  
Ranma eyed the pulsing blue circle warily. He'd already had one  
encounter with magic today, and it hadn't been too good. On the other  
hand, if this guy could cure him, he'd be a full man again!  
  
"I suppose," Ranma replied after a few seconds. "But, you can  
send me back here when you're done, right?"  
  
The professor glanced down at the controls. It would take a  
little more study, but... "Yes, of course!"  
  
[Oh well, if I at least can come back here,] Ranma thought, then  
shouldered his pack, making sure everything was secure.  
  
The professor stepped back from the console and waited, then  
heard a faint noise of movement from somewhere in the back of the room.  
He picked up the flashlight and shined it around, but couldn't see what  
had made the noise.  
  
"Who's there?" he called out. Receiving no reply, he was tempted  
to dismiss his anxiety, when he heard movement again. It was closer this  
time, and sounded like the faint click of something hard on metal.  
[Almost like the padding of a clawed foot,] he deduced. Had a stray  
followed him down here?  
  
"Hey!" the cheery female computer voice piped in. "Looks like  
our children are awake!"  
  
Professor Kao had no more time for thought, as the faint  
whistle of projectiles could be heard, and seen, streaking towards him.  
The professor hit the ground just in time, as the small, white objects  
imbedded themselves in the computer behind him, causing the electronic  
equipment to sputter and beep erratically.  
  
"Ouch!" the computer complained.  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Ranma had determined himself ready, and leapt into  
the portal. It felt like he was falling through a cool blue tunnel of  
water, but he wasn't changing, so it must not have been actual water.  
Just when he was starting to enjoy the ride, the tunnel went from nearly  
straight, to rapidly curving all over the place like an out of control  
roller coaster.  
  
  
  
  
Kao rolled away and came back to his feet, noticing that he had  
multiple attackers after him by the multiple shadows dancing on the  
other end of the darkened room. "What's going on? Computer? Are you  
alright?"  
  
"It's just a flesh wound," the female AI replied in a slightly  
distorted voice.  
  
Another stream of those white darts came flying from the back  
of the room, and would have hit him, if the professor hadn't tripped on  
a computer cord and fell flat on his face.  
  
"Well that hurt..." Kao said, rubbing his nose.  
  
"Well how do you think I feel then!?" the sparking computer  
groused.  
  
It suddenly occurred to him, that if this was one of those  
labs, the original owner might have left some safeguards to protect it  
in case of an intruder. Or it could have had another entrance, and a  
feral group had made it their home.  
  
The professor flattened himself against the wall, knowing he  
was surrounded. He couldn't really see them, but could hear their  
movements and catch faint glimpses of shadows in the darkened room.  
Casting his gaze around for a way out, his eyes fell on the gate  
generator, and his recorder which he had dropped accidentally when he  
was attacked.  
  
Gathering up his courage, he sprinted for the gate, scooping up  
the recorder as he ran. [Too late,] he realized, as his unknown  
assailants were upon him. He heard a female screech, registered a flash  
of feathers, and then he tripped and fell, sending him tumbling along  
the floor. His hands failed about as he fell, accidentally tossing the  
recorder through the air, to pass into the portal and disappear.  
  
As he pulled himself to his feet, the professor finally beheld  
his invisible attackers, all twelve of them. And he could think of only  
one thing to say.  
  
"Oh, dear."  
  
  
  
  
In the wildly fluctuating tunnel, Ranma also flailed about,  
feeling as if he had been dropped in a blender set on the `puree'  
setting. He was having trouble retaining his stability, until a small  
object struck him and solved that problem, sending him tumbling out of  
control in a downward spiral. He closed his eyes as he attempted to  
steady himself, and it seemed to be working, as his descent slowed  
somewhat.  
  
No wait, it was the tree branches that were slowing his fall.  
  
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thud! Crash!*  
  
And it was the ground that stopped him altogether, but of  
course, Ranma wasn't conscious enough at this point to appreciate it.  
  
The ground thought that was darn inconsiderate of him.  
  
  
  
  
Genma had seen his son disappear into the portal, having gone  
to try and find the boy before he wandered off too far. He sprinted,  
trying to catch his son or at least enter the portal too, but it waved  
and flickered out of existence before he could reach it.  
  
Growling in frustration, he sat down on a nearby boulder.  
"Well, the boy is on his own now. I hope he can handle it." A lazy grin  
plastered itself across his face, as he thought of where Ranma could be  
now. "Make me proud, boy!"  
  
  
----------------------  
  
Author's notes:  
I ain't gonna say too much at this point, but I'm interested in what  
people think so far. I will say that this fic idea resembles something  
that has been done before. I thought I'd try my hand at it, and match it  
more closely with the Ranma 1/2 world.  
  
If you paid close enough attention to the portal the professor uses, you  
might recognize it from somewhere. I won't say where, though!  
  
Kaiphantom  
www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000 


	2. Here's Ranma Yet Again (or the obligator...

E-mail me at: oddball22@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer: The Ranma characters aren't mine. Other characters may  
appear that aren't mine, and some will be similar, and these will be  
mine!  
  
  
Ranma1/2  
Whole New World  
Chapter 1 - Here's Ranma YET Again (or the obligatory intro sequence)  
  
  
  
  
Ranma awoke.  
  
Or perhaps, it is better to say that awareness decided to  
return to him.  
  
"Ugh, what happened?"  
  
"Oh, you're awake!" came a friendly male voice.  
  
Ranma blinked his eyes open and sat up, taking in his  
surroundings. "Where am I?" he wondered aloud, looking around at the  
small clinic room. That's when he noticed the man in the light brown gi  
and glasses standing next to his bed, making notes on a paper in a  
manila folder.  
  
"You're in my clinic and poke-center," the man replied. "Oh,  
forgive me! My name is Dr. Tofu Ono. May I ask your name?"  
  
Ranma groaned and rubbed the back of his head, feeling a small  
migraine festering there. "Uh, Ranma Saotome." His eyes closed  
momentarily as the pain peaked and subsided, which was why he missed the  
startled look on the doctor's face.  
  
Tofu's expression went back to normal when Ranma opened his  
eyes and turned back to him.  
  
"So, how'd I get here, anyway?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Um, well some of the villagers brought you here when they found  
you lying unconscious in the forest just outside of town," he explained  
absently. "We don't get many wanderers passing through here without at  
least one or two pokegirls for protection. It can be dangerous, what  
with all the wild pokegirls out there."  
  
Ranma blinked. "Poke-what?"  
  
"Pokegirls," the doctor repeated, frowning. "Don't tell me you  
don't know what they are?" He poked and prodded Ranma's head. "Hmmm, I  
don't see any signs of amnesia..."  
  
Ranma batted the hands away. "I'm fine. I just need to go find  
my pop, and the stranger who brought me here." He slid off the  
examination bed and spied his backpack leaning against the wall. "Uh,  
how much do I owe ya, doc?"  
  
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go running off just  
yet," Tofu advised. "If you don't remember what pokegirls are, then you  
would be unprepared for the wilds out there! What happens if you are  
attacked?"  
  
"Listen, doc, I'm a martial artist, and I can take care of  
myself just fine," Ranma told him while slipping his backpack on. "Ain't  
no girl better than me, and I can handle my fights just fine without  
one." He stopped. "Wait a minute, are you the guy I was talkin' to  
through the magic tunnel?"  
  
Tofu blinked. [Okay, he really must be losing it. Nobody fights  
without a pokegirl! I need to keep him safe until he remembers how the  
world is.] "Magic tunnel? No, I can't say that I am. But if you don't  
know where you are or where your father is-" he paused and waited for  
Ranma's reluctant headshake, "-then I suggest you hang around, at least  
until you get a pokegirl or two and learn how to handle them." He smiled  
suddenly. "I know a friend who has a pokedojo and breeder ranch nearby,  
and I'm sure he'd let you have one."  
  
Ranma cocked an eyebrow. [There's that word again.] He didn't  
know what it meant, but the doc seemed stressed that Ranma didn't, so he  
thought he better play along for the moment. Although he did recognize  
the word `dojo', and felt it might be a good idea to hang around long  
enough to pick up the local fighting styles. Maybe he could even get  
some free meals as well.  
  
"Sure, I suppose," Ranma agreed.  
  
Tofu smiled and nodded. "Excellent! Now, here's how you get  
there..."  
  
  
  
  
"Hello? Dr. Tofu, is that you?"  
  
The man paused, as he listened to Tofu's explanation.  
  
"Saotome!? Are you sure?"  
  
He frowned as Tofu clarified the situation.  
  
"I see, that can be a problem. Fortunately, we can help. You did  
the right thing by sending him here, doctor. Thank you. Goodbye!"  
  
The man hung up, as twin tracks of tears appeared on his face.  
"Oh, after all these years, I thought he'd never arrive. At long last,  
our dream can be fulfilled!"  
  
Turning, Soun headed up the stairs, calling out, "Kasumi!  
Nabiki! Akane! I have some wonderful news for you!"  
  
  
  
  
Ranma wiped her wet bangs back, cursing the light sprinkle that  
had activated her curse before she could seek shelter. She wondered how  
the sky could go from clear and blue, to a light rain shower in such a  
short time. It was if the gods had cursed her on purpose and were now  
tormenting her with it.  
  
Sighing noisily, she looked up at the sign that read "TENDO  
POKE-DOJO and BREEDER RANCH". The lettering on the sign was somewhat  
faded, and the gate next to it hung on it's hinges just barely, giving  
the impression that this dojo had fallen on some bad times.  
  
[Well, no sense in standing around out here,] she reasoned, then  
pushed open the door and entered. Her fears that the well-worn gate  
would collapse proved to be unfounded, as it opened with a loud creak.  
She traversed the short walkway to arrive at the front door to the  
house, giving three short knocks.  
  
A few minutes later, the door opened.  
  
"Hi, my name is Ranma Saotome and I-I-I-Ahhhhh! A ca-a-a-a-at!"  
Well, not really, but under the circumstances it was certainly  
understandable.  
  
Kasumi looked at the young girl who was cringing in fright, now  
several feet from the door. "Oh dear, are you alright?" She tweaked her  
small pink nose, which had the effect of swishing her whiskers as well.  
  
Ranma froze. "You can talk?" she asked, surprised.  
  
"Of course I can, silly!" Kasumi replied with a warm smile that  
somehow made Ranma slightly less nervous. "Please, won't you come in?"  
  
The still-very-nervous pig-tailed girl swallowed as she took  
the time to actually study the girl in the doorway. The whiskers poking  
out from her short, furry nose were scary enough, and the large white  
furry ears on either side of her head were similar to a cat, but not  
quite. The conservative dress and apron hid any other possible features,  
except for the white tail that swished back and forth from behind her.  
  
Ranma was about to reply, when a male voice interrupted her.  
"Kasumi, who is at the door?"  
  
Kasumi turned slightly to the side to address the man in the  
brown gi and black mustache as he stepped up beside her. "This is Ranma  
Saotome, Father."  
  
"At last!" Soun nearly wailed, then before Ranma knew what had  
happened, she was caught up in a monster hug. "I've waited for this day  
for so long! Now our dojo can be revived!"  
  
"Daddy, what is it?" questioned a new female voice.  
  
"Is it this Ranma?" yet another female voice, this one a bit  
more inquisitive.  
  
The boy-turned-girl in question was still in shock, due to  
first seeing the cat-like girl and then being hugged by a strange man.  
  
Just about then, Soun noticed something seemed a bit... off. He  
squeezed his arms a bit, then stepped back and pantomimed `her' curves.  
"You... are..." he started nervously.  
  
Ranma recovered, and took a step back. "Um, Ranma Saotome."  
Then she noticed the two other girls looking curiously at her. One  
definitely did have some ca-ca-cat-like features, while the other  
appeared relatively human.  
  
The really scary one took a few steps forward and prodded  
Ranma's new breasts. Ranma decided mimicking a statue would be a good  
idea.  
  
"Daddy, she can't be our tamer," the girl declared to her  
father. "Ranma's a pokegirl!"  
  
Soun came to the conclusion that unconsciousness seemed a lot  
better than reality at the moment.  
  
  
  
  
"But Saotome told me that he had a boy!" Soun cried as he awoke  
on a futon in the living room.  
  
"What part of this looks like a boy?" the cat-like girl said,  
reaching over to squeeze a breast, becoming puzzled when her hand hit  
only air. She looked up to see the red-headed, pig-tailed girl cringing  
in the furthest corner.  
  
"Nabiki!" the last girl admonished. "He-She's our guest! Stop  
doing that!"  
  
Ranma gulped as the only normal looking girl turned and smiled  
cutely at her.  
  
"Hi, I'm Akane Tendo, a Tomboy," she told Ranma. "Wanna be  
friends?"  
  
Ranma calmed some, seeing a friendly, *normal* face present.  
"Ah, sure." She took Akane's proffered hand and smiled tentatively at  
her.  
  
[Well, she seems friendly, if a little shy,] Akane thought. [But  
Nabiki and Kasumi scare her for some reason. Maybe I should get her out  
of here to calm her down.] "You want to see our dojo?" she asked, and  
was rewarded when Ranma smiled and nodded.  
  
Nabiki and Kasumi watched Akane lead Ranma out.  
  
"Well, she sure is strange," Nabiki said at last, crossing her  
lightly brown-furred arms across her chest and twitching her whiskers.  
  
  
  
  
"You're a fighting type, right?" Akane asked as they entered the  
dojo.  
  
Ranma blinked, still a little confused about what was going on.  
"Uh, yeah, I guess so."  
  
Akane walked to the center and assumed a fighting stance.  
"Well, let's have a little match, then! Don't worry, I'll go easy on  
you."  
  
Ranma nodded, feeling more comfortable. Finally, something that  
she could relate to!  
  
Akane struck out with her fist and Ranma dodged, though it came  
closer than she expected, nearly tagging her face. Ranma was forced to  
turn aside a second punch, then give ground as Akane kicked.  
  
The raven-haired girl scowled after launching several more  
attacks. "Why aren't you fighting back?" She had come close several  
times, but had yet to touch her opponent. [Alright, time to step it up a  
notch!]  
  
"Yipe!" Ranma reflexes were put into overdrive as Akane became a  
whirlwind. When several strikes got through Ranma's defenses, she  
decided to resort to the other thing she had learned on the road with  
her father.  
  
"Is that the best ya can do?" Ranma taunted. "I'm barely  
breaking a sweat here!"  
  
"Ooh, I'll show you!" Akane yelled back, smiling grimly, then  
launched into a tackle attack.  
  
Ranma blinked as Akane nearly blurred as she sprinted forward.  
Her fists even seemed to be glowing. Then Ranma had no more time for  
thought, just barely dodging the explosive attack by flipping over her  
opponent's head. When Akane's attack took out a good sized portion of  
the dojo wall, Ranma decided she better end this quick. This girl had  
serious power.  
  
Landing, Ranma crouched and swept her leg out and dropped the  
over-extended Akane to the ground, realizing that the powerful attack  
had put the raven-haired girl off balance. Ranma caught, then pinned  
Akane to the ground. The redhead felt rather reluctant to actually hurt  
the other girl, though.  
  
Akane had a very surprised look on her face. [She's the first  
one who ever dodged my attack like that!] She was prepared to kick out  
and continue the match, when Ranma smiled and began to laugh. Akane  
couldn't help herself, as it was pretty funny. She was the one who had  
wanted a fun match, after all.  
  
"Where'd you learn to do that rapid-charge thing?" Ranma asked,  
ever eager to pick up new techniques.  
  
"Huh?" Akane stood up, looking confused, then her eyes cast  
downwards and her voice turned strangely meek. "It's just a standard  
move for a... Tomboy poke-girl. And... that's what I am." She seemed to  
shrug it off, then gave a wan smile. "But I suppose I can teach you, if  
you show me a few of those moves you used."  
  
"Sure, why not?" Ranma agreed easily enough, but found herself  
confused by the girl's behavior. She was obviously not happy about  
something, but Ranma didn't know what to do about it, so she just kept  
her mouth shut.  
  
"Anyway," Akane said as she walked to the dojo door. "I'm just  
glad you're not a boy."  
  
"Um, why's that?" Ranma said nervously, remembering her curse.  
  
Akane stopped in the doorway, then turned and gave the other  
girl a humoring smile. "Silly, because then I'd have to be tamed." The  
raven-haired girl shivered at the word `tamed', then turned to glance  
out at the darkening sky. "Most pokegirls have to be tamed once they hit  
threshold and are beaten by a boy. Some can hold out without it, and  
some go feral." She shivered again, then gave Ranma a hopeful smile.  
"With any luck, maybe I can avoid being tamed, too, don't you think?"  
  
Even though Ranma didn't have the slightest idea what Akane was  
talking about, she nodded anyway.  
  
  
  
  
"There's a pervert in the bathroom!"  
  
Nabiki blinked as her younger sister zoomed by in just her gi  
top. "So why didn't you just kill him with your bare hands?"  
  
Akane hefted the huge stone easily in her right hand. "Because  
I wanted something heavier to smash him with!" That wasn't the real  
reason, as it was mainly because she started feeling very strange when  
she saw his muscular, naked form, as well as his-  
Akane shook her head to clear it, unable and unwilling to deal  
with that right now. And was she feeling that way? She shouldn't be,  
unless-  
  
"Uh, excuse me," a now-male Ranma offered. He saw Akane giving  
him venom-filled glare, and he couldn't fault her for it, though it did  
hurt. "I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about this." He had planned to just  
sneak out of this house before they discovered his curse, but Kasumi had  
insisted he take a bath. Ranma, still nervous about the older girl's  
appearance, had agreed.  
  
And then Akane had walked in as he was getting out of the furo.  
  
"You're Ranma!?" Nabiki said in disbelief. [Is this some sort of  
abnormal pokegirl? A Ditto maybe, that wants to be a man? Freaky.]  
  
The pigtailed boy sighed, then started in on *the* explanation.  
  
  
  
  
One Jusenkyo tale later, left those gathered in the Tendo  
living room stunned in silence. Ranma had even demonstrated the curse  
with hot and cold water, and now sat damp and female across the table  
from the three strange sisters.  
  
Akane's face still held some of the glare, but there was ample  
confusion there now as well. Nabiki was frowning slightly as she studied  
the cursed girl, as if she was trying to decide who and what Ranma was.  
  
Ranma was still quite afraid of Nabiki, but she could at least  
recognize that the girl was part human, and therefore not all bad. Ranma  
just didn't want to get too close to cat-like girl. Kasumi made Ranma  
feel almost the same, but now that she thought about it, the oldest-  
looking girl reminded Ranma more of a mouse, than a cat  
  
"Magic tunnel?" Akane questioned in disbelief.  
  
"What's China?" Kasumi asked in curiosity.  
  
Ranma blinked in surprise. "What?"  
  
"I think it used to be a country across the sea hundreds of  
years ago," Nabiki explained. "I remember reading about it in one of  
mom's books. It's part of the Indigo League now, same as us. As for the  
magic tunnel bit, didn't Dr. Tofu say he got hit on the head?"  
  
Nabiki turned back and studied Ranma, critically. [I was hoping  
for a normal, pliable tamer I could control, and he seems naive enough,  
if a little weird. Also, his guy side is pretty good-looking. However,  
if I'm his only pokegirl, I'll have to fight quite a bit and I'm not  
much of a fighter. The smart thing would be if he had a more combative  
pokegirl in addition to me.]  
  
"So you're really a boy, then?" Soun asked.  
  
Ranma nodded vigorously.  
  
Just to be sure, Soun flipped open his old pokedex, and scanned  
the redhead. It beeped and blipped, and a few garbled characters flitted  
across the screen, but nothing else happened. He had scanned his  
daughters earlier with it, so he knew it was working properly. He  
smiled; the boy may be a little strange, but a promise was a promise.  
  
"Well now, your problem isn't so bad!" Soun said at last. "You  
see, your father and I had an agreement that his son would take one of  
my daughters as his Alpha pokegirl." He draped one arm around the boy-  
currently-girl and gestured to his three daughters. "My oldest daughter,  
Kasumi, nineteen, Mousewife. My middle daughter, Nabiki, seventeen,  
Kitten. My youngest daughter, Akane, sixteen, Tomboy. Pick any one you  
want, she'll be your Alpha!"  
  
"I believe Akane would be best, don't you agree?" Kasumi said,  
pushing her younger sister forward.  
  
Nabiki took her older sister's cue. "Oh yes, she would be  
perfect!" [If Ranma takes Akane as well as me, I can be the Alpha and  
Akane can do all the fighting! But I'll have to get Akane to go with him  
first, and then I can invite myself along.] A Kitten may have some  
attack abilities, but there are many stronger pokegirls out there. What  
if they got attacked as soon as they set out? Nabiki didn't really care  
for the odds of survival in that case.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute!" Akane protested, scowling. "Why me? I  
don't want to go with that pervert!"  
  
That got Ranma's attention, breaking him out his wonderings of  
how this Soun Tendo knew his father. "Hey, whatta ya mean, `pervert'!?"  
  
Nabiki sat back, amused, as the two bickered. Her plan was  
forming, and it was perfect as usual. She just needed to get Akane to go  
along with it...  
  
  
  
  
Ranma awoke from her table-induced nap a short time later.  
"Ughhh... what happened?"  
  
"You'll have to forgive Akane," came Kasumi's soothing voice.  
"She's a really nice pokegirl, but she can be a bit violent. It's not  
her fault really, since she is a Tomboy. It's just her nature."  
  
"Don't worry," Nabiki added. "I'm sure you'll get used to her in  
time."  
  
Ranma sat up while rubbing her head, took note of how close  
Nabiki was, then quickly jumped back against the wall. "Ahhh!"  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. For some odd reason, Ranma seemed  
awfully scared of her. [Hmmm, this could put a kink in my plan. I won't  
be able to go with him and control him if he's scared of me. Maybe I  
just have to get in a taming session first...] She smiled lazily. "Well,  
I'm going to check on Akane. See ya later!"  
  
Ranma gulped nervously as Nabiki gave the red-head a hungry  
smile, then left the room. With her gone, Ranma calmed considerably,  
then turned to Kasumi. The pig-tailed girl figured it was about time to  
get some answers, and she determined that the demure, mouse-like girl  
was her best chance at getting some.  
  
"Say, uh, Kasumi what's an Alpha anyway?"  
  
The eldest daughter started checking Ranma's head. "Oh dear.  
Akane didn't hit that hard, did she?" She stopped when Ranma waved her  
off. "Well, an Alpha is the pokegirl that spends most of her time  
outside her pokeball. She's also the girl that tends to manage and train  
the other pokegirls that a tamer catches. The kind of pokegirl a tamer  
uses for his Alpha, says a lot about the tamer, usually."  
  
Ranma looked even more confused. "Pokeball? Tamer?" She got an  
image of her pandafied father being trained in a circus by balancing on  
a colorful beach ball, which brought a momentary smile to her face. Then  
she blinked as Kasumi showed her a small ball that was red on the top  
half and white on the bottom half. "What's that?"  
  
Kasumi nodded. "It's my pokeball, and for my tamer to use." She  
replaced the ball in an apron pocket, then patted Ranma's shoulder.  
"You'll get along fine with Akane, you'll see."  
  
Ranma shook her head and stood up. Right now, she was just  
confused. She said her thanks to Kasumi, then walked out, deciding to at  
least take a bath and turn back into a male.  
  
  
  
  
Nabiki watched the female Ranma walk into the changing room.  
The middle Tendo had taken the liberty of removing the "Occupied" sign.  
[Akane did get defeated by Ranma, so that should have triggered her.  
True, he was female at the time, but once Akane's brain processes the  
fact that she was defeated by a guy, her genetic impulses should do the  
rest. Now I just need to get her in a situation where her hormones have  
the best chance of taking over.]  
  
She winced as she heard the slap echo from within the bathroom.  
[Well, it's a start anyway. She may be in denial now, but it can't last  
forever.]  
  
Nabiki sighed as Ranma left the bathroom, still female, and  
with the added handprint on her cheek. [I'll also have to get Ranma to  
go along with this as well.] She caught up to her in the living room  
after grabbing the heated kettle off the stove. "Ranma, can I speak to  
you for a second? I'll give you this to change back if you do."  
  
Ranma froze, then turned slowly see Nabiki standing in the  
hallway. "Uh, I guess so," she replied nervously, seeing the heated  
kettle. "But, could you just stay there, not that I'm afraid of ya or  
nothin'... I just - well - ah, just getting used to all this, `cause I  
ain't never seen someone like you before."  
  
Nabiki waited while the other girl ran down. [Hmmm, Ranma does  
seem as if he's never met another pokegirl before, but how could that  
be? Was he sequestered away in a forgotten portion of the world with no  
pokegirls? That would explain the lack of social mannerisms as well.]  
  
The middle Tendo seated herself on a cushion and placed the  
kettle on the table. "Listen, I just thought we might talk. I'm sure you  
have many questions, and I can help answer them."  
  
Ranma nodded slowly, then almost faster than Nabiki's eye could  
follow, the red-head grabbed the kettle and doused herself. Ranma sighed  
in relief as he sat down against the wall.  
  
"Um, thanks," he told her. He was silent for a few seconds, then  
asked, "What exactly is a pokegirl anyway? The doc that treated me said  
I'd need one to defend myself, but I don't need any girl to fight my  
battles for me."  
  
"A pokegirl is what me and my sisters are, and what our mother  
was," Nabiki explained, having heard this familiar lecture as she was  
growing up. "We are genetically enhanced in many different ways as a  
result of a war that happened a long time ago. Because of this, we are  
faster and stronger than any man, as well as having a wide degree of  
inherent special abilities. Most of us look relatively human, but there  
are others, mostly wild ones, that are more animal-like than girl."  
  
Ranma frowned. "That still doesn't explain why I should need  
one. I don't care how good they think they are, I'm better than any  
girl!"  
  
"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma," Nabiki said, shaking her head. She also  
undid the top button of her blouse. Ranma didn't notice right away, but  
Nabiki knew he would soon. "Even if you do know how to fight humans,  
wild pokegirls are an entirely different story. Some have strong  
poisons, others are spider-like and will trap you in webbing before  
devouring you. There are hundreds more that wield magic, psionics, and  
elemental attacks. A few would even drag you under into ground itself.  
They're stronger and tougher than any normal human, and can heal fast.  
Even if you can fight, you'd have to be lucky to survive an encounter  
with a pack of wild pokegirls."  
  
Ranma merely `hmphed' to this, clearly not believing the  
explanation. Nabiki decided on a different approach.  
  
"I saw your match against Akane, and I can tell that you were  
hard-pressed there for awhile." Nabiki leaned forward a little, undoing  
another button in the process, giving Ranma a good view of her cleavage.  
  
"Nonsense, I was doin' f-f-fine." That's when he noted Nabiki's  
new position and the extra view he was getting. He swallowed. Hard.  
  
[Perfect!] Nabiki thought, grinning on the inside. [He's getting  
flustered. He may have seen a woman's body before, but never quite like  
this. I can tell he's a virgin, so I have to do this slowly. With any  
luck, he'll start thinking of me in a totally different way.]  
  
"Well you see, Akane wasn't even fighting at close to her full  
strength," the cat-like pokegirl said in a low whisper as she leaned  
farther across the table, now knowing that Akane was in fact listening  
in just inside the hallway. Nabiki may not have the strength or power of  
a fighter, but she had other skills, like advanced smell and hearing.  
She had heard the youngest Tendo pad up in her bare feet, and having  
lived with them for her entire life, she was well aware of what each of  
her family members smelled like.  
  
Ranma had finally had enough. Nabiki was getting too close, and  
her presence combined with the pose, the (frightfully) hungry smile, the  
cleavage, and the idea that Akane was better than him, was enough to  
send him to his feet.  
  
"What!?" Ranma protested. "Ain't no way that brutish chick is  
better than me!"  
  
"Brutish chick am I?" Akane nearly yelled in outrage, appearing  
in the doorway. "I'm better than a half-pokegirl freak any day of the  
week, and if you were to try me for real, you'd see that!"  
  
"Oh yeah?" Ranma retorted brilliantly. Despite the fact that he  
was arguing, Ranma felt good. For with all the strangeness he had  
encountered today, arguing, fighting, and insults were things he was  
very comfortable with. In unknown and different situations, it is only  
human nature to seek out and cling to that which is familiar. "If you're  
challenging me, you better take it back or else I'll have to prove to  
you that I'm better than some macho violent tomboy!"  
  
Akane's hands were clenched at her sides as she looked down,  
trembling, and a vein throbbing on her forehead. Inside, she could hear  
the mocking whispers that she was a Tomboy, a pokegirl, and not a real  
girl; voices that she had heard from a young age and had always tried to  
deny. She had wanted to be her own person, but a pokegirl was  
genetically predisposed to being imprinted by the first boy that managed  
to subdue her. Akane was very afraid of that.  
  
Her head came up to spear the arrogant pig-tailed boy with the  
look. "Fine then, I challenge you! Meet me back out in the dojo, and  
we'll see which one of us is the best!" [If I can beat him, maybe he'll  
give up and leave! I won't let a boy control me!]  
  
Ranma was taken aback by the fire in the girl's eyes. She  
seemed incredibly determined to prove herself, a feeling that Ranma was  
well-acquainted with, having used that same determination to prove  
himself to his father. It was something he understood and could respect.  
  
But he still had his own pride to contend with. "Fine! I hope  
you're a good loser!"  
  
Akane whirled and left the room, trudging up the stairs to  
change into her gi, while Ranma stood there wondering what had just  
happened. Then he shook his head and left for the dojo to wait, figuring  
that if the girl wanted a fight, he give her one. He didn't really want  
to hurt her, per se, but he wasn't going to lose, especially not to a  
girl.  
  
Back in the living room Nabiki allowed that inner grin to  
finally come to the surface. [Perfect! Ranma is as easily manipulated as  
I thought he would be.] Just then, she heard the front door open and her  
father come in.  
  
She smiled wider. [Now to add one more ingredient to the list.]  
"Oh, Daddy..."  
  
  
  
  
"What's this?" Ranma asked turning over the small red device in  
his hands. It looked like a small notepad, and had a wand pointing out  
the top.  
  
"It's called a `Poke-Dex' and it's yours," Soun explained. "All  
tamers have one, as it helps to identify wild pokegirls, as well as give  
detailed information about your own. It also doubles as an ID. This one  
is now registered to you."  
  
The ID part Ranma understood, as he knew his father had usually  
carried an ID and had gotten into trouble when he was caught without  
one. The rest was still moderately confusing. "Ah, okay." Out of  
curiosity, he opened it up to see small screen and several buttons.  
  
Just then, Nabiki walked into the dojo and the pokedex came to  
life as it spoke. {Kitten: the cat-type pokegirl. Kittens make good  
pets, as they keep themselves clean and can be very affectionate. They  
are weaker fighters than most pokegirls, but can have some useful  
alternate talents.}  
  
Ranma blinked. "Ah, okay..."  
  
Nabiki was followed by Akane, who was dressed in a gi once  
more, and the pokedex once again became active. {Tomboy: the fighting-  
type pokegirl. Tomboys are powerful fighters, but can be hard to handle.  
Their strength is very high and are very well-suited to heavy lifting.}  
  
"Well that was helpful," Ranma muttered, then noticed the way  
Akane was staring at him. Her gaze appeared somewhat hurt, but that  
quickly disappeared to be replaced by anger. Ranma really couldn't  
figure out what this crazy chick's problem was.  
  
"What's going on?" Soun asked, seeing Ranma and Akane take up  
opposing combat stances.  
  
Nabiki pulled him aside. "Oh, they're just going to have a  
little match."  
  
"What!?" Soun blurted. "Tamers don't fight their pokegirls!"  
  
"I'm not his pokegirl!" Akane yelled.  
  
"Relax, daddy, Ranma seems to be a decent fighter," Nabiki  
soothed. "And I don't think Akane will hurt him too badly."  
  
Ranma snorted at that. "As if she'll even be able to touch me!"  
  
"We'll see about that!" Akane countered.  
  
Nabiki raised her hand, then dropped it. "Begin!"  
  
As Ranma expected, Akane led off on the offensive. Ranma worked  
to duck and block the powerful punches that flared suddenly then  
disappeared. He upped his speed and twisted away from a thrust kick,  
then ducked under a roundhouse. Ranma turned aside a left hook, probed  
her defenses with a few light punches, then broke away to gauge what he  
had learned.  
  
Ranma noted that Akane seemed to be breathing a little harder,  
but she was otherwise fine. That was to be expected, since Ranma still  
couldn't bring himself to attacking full out. His punches were pretty  
light, and were mainly used to get Akane on the defensive so he would  
face less attacks. He was faster than her, but she was pretty strong. He  
didn't know who's strength was actually greater.  
  
On the sidelines, Soun slowly reeled his jaw back into place.  
[Ranma knows Anything-Goes! I know Genma said he was going to train his  
son, but I never thought that meant actual fighting! I thought he was  
just going to train him to be a good tamer.] Anything-Goes was a style  
of fighting that had been taught at this dojo for as long as Soun could  
remember, but only to pokegirls. Lately, though, no one had wanted to  
learn.  
  
Nabiki had come to the same conclusion. Though she had trained  
in the Anything-Goes style as well, Akane had been better at it due to  
being a natural fighting-type. Nabiki liked to use her brain more often,  
but a pokegirl couldn't survive in this world by brains alone, unless  
she wanted to be a domesticated Titmouse or Bunny type. Nabiki had  
greater aspirations than that, and she would need some fighting skills  
to obtain it.  
  
"What's the matter?" Akane taunted. "Still can't really fight  
me? You might as well give up now if you can't fight me for real!"  
  
That did it for Ranma. He may not want to actually hurt her,  
but no way was Ranma Saotome going to lose! He grinned. "Well if you  
could fight at all, this might actually be worth my time."  
  
"Why you-!" Akane charged again, this time going back into her  
tackle attack.  
  
Ranma saw it coming and prepared to dodge to the side, but  
Akane halted it just before reaching him and lashed out with a weapon  
that wasn't in her hands a second before. Ranma instinctively brought  
both his forearms up to block.  
  
*WHAM!* The large mallet strike sent Ranma skidding backwards.  
That had hurt, but inwardly he was smiling. This was more like it! He  
stopped and grinned cockily at her again. "That the best you can do?"  
  
"RANMA NO BAKA!" Akane yelled, which froze Ranma in place for  
some reason, allowing her to close the distance again strike out with a  
fist that was seemingly on fire. The strike rocked his head back and  
temporarily scrambled his thoughts, allowing his reflexes to take over.  
  
Turning with the blow, Ranma lashed out with a roundhouse kick  
that was too fast for Akane to block. As she spun from the impact, Ranma  
lanced out with an uppercut that rocked the girl up into the air,  
landing on her back some distance away. He leapt into the air to prepare  
for the axe kick that would finish the combo, when his thought processes  
kicked back in and he realized what he was doing. He adjusted his aim  
slightly, so the ball of his right foot cracked the wooden planks just  
to the side of the raven-haired girl's head.  
  
Akane recovered enough to realize that if Ranma had finished  
that move, it would have been very painful. She had a good healing  
factor, but that kick would have been enough to take her out of the  
match.  
  
She had lost, that much was clear. While a part of her relished  
the good fight, she couldn't help but feel despair well up at the  
thought.  
  
She had lost. To a boy.  
  
"The winner: Ranma!" Nabiki announced, recognizing that Ranma  
had technically won as well. [Just as I had hoped!] She felt a twinge as  
Akane ran out of the dojo with tears forming in her eyes, but covered it  
up with the fact that she was just doing what was in Akane's best  
interests.  
  
Akane was good, but Nabiki could tell that Ranma was much  
faster and almost as strong. In her own sparring sessions with her  
sister, Nabiki's speed was slightly better than Akane's, but the middle  
Tendo just couldn't do enough damage to beat Akane. Nabiki had learned  
from watching Akane's first match with the cursed girl, that Ranma was  
highly skilled, moreso than herself.  
  
Being a good gambler, Nabiki had easily seen that Ranma had  
better odds of winning this fight. She had a backup plan if Ranma had  
lost, but it wouldn't be needed now.  
  
"Well, that was quite fascinating," Soun said, nodding. "Well  
done, boy. You earned your first pokegirl! Of course, most either get  
one from a breeder ranch or use traps to catch a wild pokegirl, but  
whatever works for you." He shook his head, then handed Ranma a small  
ball. "Here's Akane's pokeball. Good luck on your travels, son!"  
  
"Hey, waitaminute!" Ranma protested. "What makes you think I'm  
taking her anywhere?"  
  
"Daddy, why don't we just let Ranma stay here for a few days?"  
Nabiki suggested diplomatically. "He's still apparently new to this, and  
it would give him time to acclimate to everything."  
  
Soun nodded sagely. "Yes, I suppose that's alright. After all,  
there's no real hurry is there? No sense in just pushing you out the  
door until you understand everything you need to." He chuckled. "In  
fact, it would be very dangerous to send a tamer out unprepared. Good  
thinking, Nabiki."  
  
Ranma felt more and more uncomfortable as Soun went on.  
"Dangerous? I can handle anything! I've been travelin' most of my life.  
It ain't no problem."  
  
Nabiki turned and hissed at Ranma, which had the effect of  
sending Ranma out the dojo door, stuttering something about getting  
cleaned up. [Just as I thought, he must have ailuraphobia. That's why  
I'm really the only one that scares him.] She smiled once he was gone,  
inwardly chuckling at what she had done. [Well, there are ways of curing  
people of their fears!]  
  
Soun blinked at the retreating Ranma, puzzled by his reaction.  
"Well, that was strange. He does seem good enough, I suppose. I just  
wonder where his father, my old friend, is?"  
  
"He also seems very new at this," Nabiki added, then turned back  
to her father. "In fact, why not allow him to take two of us? It would  
increase his odds of survival in the wilds."  
  
Soun nodded. "Another good idea, but I'd like it if at least  
one of you girls could stay around to handle the chores."  
  
Nabiki grinned. "Leave it to me, Daddy!" Finally, this was her  
chance! She had no inclinations of staying around a broken-down old  
dojo, and this Ranma looked like her best chance for getting out and  
making something of herself. There were, of course, a few problems to  
work out, such as Ranma's fear of cats. But Nabiki was confident she  
could deal with it. She was so sure, she would bet on it!  
  
  
  
  
In her room, Akane thoughts were a jumble. She had finally been  
defeated by a boy. A strange, perverted boy who turn into girl with  
water and would now have to tame her, though he was quite handsome and  
she recalled what he looked like when he stood up in the furo-  
  
Akane began to bash her head against the wall and chant her  
"Boys Are Perverts" mantra.  
  
  
  
In the kitchen, Kasumi finished cleaning the kitchen,  
blissfully content, and happy that they apparently had a new guest for  
awhile.  
  
  
  
  
And in the guest room, Ranma was laying on his back and  
wondering what the hell he had got himself into.  
  
  
---------------------------  
  
Author's notes:  
Okay, first off I should say that I didn't create the pokegirl concept.  
I'm just using my own spin on them to tell a fun story, and create a  
slightly different world. For those who don't know what pokegirls are,  
just sit back and wait, and further chapters will explain my variation  
on them.  
  
And last of all, nothing is set in stone as far as this story goes.  
Rewrites may occur, to better explain some points. After all, I'm only  
human! 


	3. Taming - It's a Tough Job, But Someone's...

Find my other fics at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000  
E-mail me at: oddball22@hotmail.com  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Ranma 1/2 characters. I didn't create the  
pokegirl concept, however, I'm using my own take on the idea. Plenty  
seems familiar now, but small changes will keep popping up and building  
on each other...  
  
Ranma 1/2  
Whole New World  
Chapter 2 - Taming, It's a Tough Job, But Someone's Got To Do It!  
(Or Combat First, Sex Later)  
  
  
  
  
Ranma tried to keep his concentration on his breakfast, doing  
his best to ignore the other people at the table. It wasn't that he  
didn't like this family, they just unnerved him a little. Soun was  
eating quite normally, using chopsticks like Ranma was, but the three  
girls...  
  
Kasumi was happily munching on a bowl of fruits and nuts.  
Holding a piece of fruit in her paw-like hands, she would take small,  
quick nibbles, then chew several times rapidly, before taking another  
tiny bite. She also revealed, for the first time, a small pair of buck  
teeth that she used to crack open the nuts. She almost reminded him of a  
chipmunk.  
  
Nabiki was bent over her meal, alternating between a saucer of  
milk and bowl of fishstuffs. That wouldn't be so strange, except she  
wasn't using her hands. Instead, she would dip her entire head down to  
lap up the milk with her tongue, or snatch a fishroll with her teeth.  
Every now and then, though, she'd look up and give him a hungry grin  
while licking her lips. Ranma shuddered and tried to ignore that,  
however.  
  
Lastly, Akane had a mix of fruits, noodles, and lots of meat,  
but compared to her two sisters, Akane's meal was twice as big. And like  
Kasumi, Akane was using just her hands to eat, though she was taking  
much larger bites, sometimes plopping in whole portions. It reminded  
Ranma of the way he and his father tended to eat on the road.  
  
Ranma forced his attention to his own meal, and his thoughts  
onto a different, more pressing, subject. If what he had learned from  
Nabiki and the rest of the Tendos over the past couple of days was true,  
then neither Japan nor China existed anymore. Instead, they were part of  
something called the "Indigo League". The year was 2282; meaning he was  
nearly 300 years in the future.  
  
Did that guy who opened the magic tunnel transport him through  
time? At first, Ranma was tempted to dismiss that idea as ludicrous. But  
then again he was cursed to turn into a girl with a splash of cold  
water. He absently fingered his pigtail, realizing that perhaps time  
travel was possible as well.  
  
If so, everything Ranma knew about the world was vastly  
different, if the three girls in front of him were any indication. In  
any case, he figured he'd just do what he always did: play it by ear,  
and adapt to the situation as necessary. In the meantime, he decided  
would have to go looking for that guy that brought him here, then make  
him send the pig-tailed martial artist back.  
  
At least, he hoped it was possible to go back.  
  
  
  
  
Akane finished her workout in the dojo and stepped outside. She  
had retreated there after breakfast to be away from Ranma, her  
conflicting feelings on him distressing her greatly. Part of her wanted  
to hate him, but there was another part, the scary pokegirl part of her  
that had been defeated by him twice, and now wanted to be tamed. Only  
her considerable willpower had kept that impulse in check.  
  
In the backyard, Akane saw Ranma running through a kata. She  
recognized it as being from the advanced set of Anything-Goes  
techniques, and was curious as to how and why he knew it. Fighting  
styles like Anything-Goes were only taught to pokegirls. Almost as if in  
a trance, Akane moved over and sat down on the veranda to watch his  
graceful moves. He was good, she'd give him that, albeit reluctantly.  
  
Nabiki came up behind her sister. "Oh, by the way, Akane...  
Guess what today is?"  
  
The Tomboy pokegirl thought for a second, then the answer came  
to her. "Oh no, not again..." She realized she had been distracted by  
the Ranma's arrival in the Tendo home, otherwise she would have  
remembered.  
  
"Yep, it's Sunday!" Nabiki confirmed with a smile.  
  
Ranma finished his kata, then turned and blinked as Akane's  
expression rapidly turned into one he was well-acquainted with: fierce  
determination with plenty of anger.  
  
Akane stood slowly and mechanically, while breathing a  
frustrated sigh that came out sounding almost like a growl. As she  
turned towards the hallway, she muttered darkly, "I hate boys."  
  
Nabiki glanced at the clock, which now read 11:00 am. "And it  
should be starting soon, too."  
  
Akane tightened her gi belt as she headed toward the gate. "I  
Hate Boys," she grumbled a little louder.  
  
"Uh, what's goin' on?" Ranma asked, confused.  
  
"Oh, just Akane's weekly exercise routine," Kasumi explained as  
she began to sweep the veranda. She looked up as her ears twitched. "And  
it sounds like they've arrived."  
  
"I. Hate. Boys!"  
  
"Why don't you come and watch?" Nabiki suggested with a smile,  
following after her sister.  
  
Ranma shrugged, then trailed after the Kitten pokegirl, but at  
a good distance, of course. He made it around to the front yard just in  
time to see Akane sprint toward the outer gate. Curious, he leapt to the  
top of the outer wall as she passed through, and when he finally saw  
what was going on, his eyes widened to size of saucers.  
  
"I. HATE. BOYS!" Akane yelled one final time, then charged into  
the waiting onslaught...  
  
Of girls.  
  
"What the-!?" Ranma expected there was going to be some sort of  
fight, but nothing, not even what he had seen with the Tendos, could  
have prepared him for what he beheld on the other side of the wall.  
  
Akane plowed into the mob, delivering lightning fast punches  
and kicks to her opponents, who seemed to come in all types and colors.  
Some looked like normal humans, but most were either part furry animal,  
similar to Kasumi and Nabiki, while others looked plant-like. There was  
even one who reminded him of a fish.  
  
Even though Ranma was surprised by all of this, the back of his  
mind catalogued all the moves being used. Most of Akane's opponents  
tried to close and attack, but others were shooting off bolts of  
electricity? Streams of flame? There was even one who fired off a stream  
of water!  
  
What the hell was going on!?  
  
But what really confused Ranma, were the group of boys lined up  
on the sidelines, and what they were shouting.  
  
"Yuka, tackle attack! And watch out for that-" *smash* "-  
tree..."  
  
"Sayuri, leap and use your flamethrower!"  
  
"Hey watch it, you burned my bunnygirl!"  
  
"Michi, dodge!" *wince* "Nevermind..."  
  
"Eriko, back up and use thundershock!" *Zap!* "Oy, gotta work on  
your aim..."  
  
To Ranma's point of view, it seemed as if the boys were telling  
the girls how to fight. Not that it mattered much, as Akane ducked and  
weaved through the various attacks, letting her opponents hit each  
other. The rest fell to one or two calculated strikes.  
  
In less then two minutes, Akane had plowed through nearly three  
dozen combatants.  
  
[Whoa, not bad,] Ranma commented to himself, still somewhat  
stunned. He continued to stare as the guys brought out balls similar to  
the one Kasumi showed him. The small spheres fired off red beams at the  
various unconscious girls, which coalesced their forms into the same  
shade of red light, then were drawn into the balls.  
  
Nabiki reached over and closed Ranma's open jaw. "Don't worry,  
she does this every week."  
  
Ranma collected his scattered wits and finally noticed the  
Kitten pokegirl perched on the wall beside him. "Yahhhh!" he commented  
before appearing ten feet away without occupying any of the intervening  
space, then taking a few breaths to calm himself. He frowned. "Wait a  
minute, she does this every week?"  
  
Nabiki nodded, inwardly upset that he was still afraid of her.  
"Akane's a Tomboy, a somewhat rare type of pokegirl, and one guy wanted  
to claim her because of that. So, he made a challenge that only one who  
could best her combat could claim her." A drumroll drew her attention  
back to the wide street, where a five foot circular section in the road  
had opened up. "Speaking of which, here comes the main event!"  
  
"Main event?" Ranma questioned, but Nabiki was ignoring him for  
once. Instead, he watched as the drumroll ceased and a pair of figures  
began to rise from the opening.  
  
"To rule my realm with a fair and just hand," came an arrogant  
male voice.  
  
"To display my beauty across the land," added a haughty female  
voice.  
  
"To defeat Akane Tendo and claim her love!" the man declared  
nobly.  
  
"To find the man that I'm dreaming of!" the girl expressed with  
a sigh.  
  
"Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder!"  
  
"Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose!"  
  
Tatewaki held a wooden sword aloft. "Team Bokken is ready and  
prepared to smite!"  
  
Kodachi smiled evilly while holding a black flower. "Please  
don't surrender, because I *want* to fight!"  
  
The rising platform that brought the pair into view finally  
stopped at street level. Down below, Sasuke stopped turning the elevator  
crank and collapsed out of breath, then dropped the drum aside as he sat  
down.  
  
"Kuno," Akane groaned with half-lidded eyes. She was not looking  
forward to this. Every week Kodachi would attack her, to prove who was  
the strongest pokegirl in town. If she lost, she knew Tatewaki would  
capture her in a pokeball and become her tamer. She shuddered inwardly  
at that.  
  
"Truly such a boorish lot," Tatewaki declared. "For only my  
magnificence is worthy of taming thy wild beauty."  
  
Despite the rumors that said otherwise, Kuno wasn't incestuous.  
His sister had only gone through Threshold and become a pokegirl a year  
ago, and was still unclaimed. That didn't stop her from having natural  
rivalry with Akane, and if the Tomboy pokegirl was defeated, Tatewaki  
could rightfully claim her. He had considered getting another pokegirl  
to fight for him, but he had been obsessed with Akane for a long time  
and wanted her to be his first. Actually, no other sane pokegirl wanted  
to be tamed by him, anyway.  
  
Kodachi grinned hungrily at Akane. "Today is the day I shall  
defeat you, Tendo!"  
  
Akane grimly slid into a ready stance. "Anytime you're ready."  
  
Curious, Ranma flipped open his pokedex and pointed it at  
Akane's opponent. {Domina, the aggressive pokegirl. Domina are a mix of  
plant and poison types, as well as having minor psychic talent. They  
also are difficult to control, being quite fond of pain.}  
  
Ranma blinked. "Okay..." He glanced back up just in time to see  
Kodachi start her attack.  
  
"Rose whip!" she declared, flinging out a black vine.  
  
Akane sidestepped the attack and the vine chewed up a sizable  
section of the worn concrete. Then she was forced to dodge once more as  
Kodachi flicked the whip at her again and again.  
  
"What's she waitin' for?" Ranma wondered aloud. "She should just  
take the whip, then close and attack once her opponent is weaponless."  
  
"Tomboys are weak against Domina attacks," Nabiki explained. "If  
Akane gets caught by the whip, Kodachi will be able to subdue her."  
  
"Petal Storm!" Akane was suddenly bathed in flurry of black  
petals that nearly blinded her. She just barely managed to dodge the  
follow-up whip attack, which left a nasty welt on her upper arm.  
  
"Hmmm, that's a new move for her," Nabiki commented.  
  
Kodachi followed up on her advantage by finally wrapping the  
vine whip around Akane's body. "Call me Queen!" the Domina commanded  
happily.  
  
Akane's struggles with the whip started to become less active,  
and she replied in a monotone voice, "Yes, Queen." She shook her head  
violently. "No! I'm not beat yet!"  
  
"Hohohohoho! Surrender Akane Tendo!"  
  
Ranma wondered for a second why Kodachi's eyes were glowing  
red. Then, frowning more and growing impatient at Akane's lack of  
progress, called out, "Don't just stand there, stupid! Tackle her or  
something!"  
  
Nabiki sweatdropped at what Ranma had unwittingly done. "Uh  
oh..."  
  
Down below, Akane paused for a split second in shock, then her  
instincts took over and she rushed towards her opponent. Kodachi,  
unprepared for this change in tactics, was caught full force and sent  
tumbling into the ground. The whip fell limply to her feet.  
  
Akane recovered and turned around to yell at Ranma. "Stop that!  
I can handle this fight myself!"  
  
"Don't yell at me!" Ranma retorted. "If you're gonna yell at  
anyone, it should be her!" He pointed.  
  
Again, Akane lost control for a second and turned back to her  
opponent. "KODACHI NO BAKA!"  
  
The Domina pokegirl had recovered and was attempting a sneak  
attack, but froze at Akane's voice. However, it only lasted for a  
second.  
  
It was enough.  
  
Akane wound up and let her anger at Ranma and at this stupid  
weekly fight power her attack. "COMET PUNCH!" Her blazing fist smashed  
into Kodachi and plowed the other girl into the ground. Kodachi didn't  
get up.  
  
"Well, it's about time," Ranma remarked, coming up beside Akane.  
"Took you long enough."  
  
"Shut up!" Akane hissed back at him. "I could have taken her  
just fine without your help!"  
  
"You there, who are you to command my fair pokemaiden in  
battle?" Tatewaki demanded to know.  
  
The crowd mumbled back and forth between themselves, realizing  
that Ranma *had* commanded Akane, and everyone knew that only her tamer  
could do that.  
  
Ranma turned and smirked at him. "I'm Ranma Saotome, of the  
Saotome school of Anything-Goes Martial Arts!"  
  
Unnoticed by all, Kodachi stirred and opened her eyes. Her  
somewhat blurry gaze focused on a pig-tailed boy and, since she was  
currently unclaimed (she merely worked with her brother, he didn't own  
her), her mind went through a couple of base mental checks.  
  
Defeated? Yes.  
  
By a pokegirl belonging to a man? Yes.  
  
Is he good looking? Oh, yes!  
  
She smiled and mumbled softly, "Ranma... Darling..."  
  
"What!?" Tatewaki was saying, surprised. "Dare you claim the  
same school as Akane Tendo?"  
  
"I'm afraid it's so, Kuno-baby," Nabiki said, smiling as she  
made her approach. This promised to be so much fun! "Ranma here defeated  
and claimed Akane yesterday. And he only became a tamer a couple of days  
ago. He actually fought and bested Akane himself."  
  
This produced even more mumbling. Ranma actually fought a  
pokegirl by himself? And he beat her? And for a new tamer, he was able  
to beat a Domina using a Tomboy!  
  
Akane flushed with shame at having this fact revealed. "It not  
like that!"  
  
"Ranma-darling!" *Glomp!*  
  
Ranma wasn't the only one caught off guard when Kodachi  
suddenly came to life and attached herself to him. "Yaughh! Hey, what  
are you doin'!? Get offa me!"  
  
Nabiki frowned. Of course, Ranma had technically defeated  
Kodachi using Akane. She wondered why she hadn't anticipated this. After  
all, if Ranma got Kodachi, the crazy Domina would insist on being the  
Alpha, when that position was reserved solely for Nabiki.  
  
Ranma continued to try and struggle out of Kodachi's hold.  
  
Akane grew angrier, though this condition wasn't all that  
unusual for her.  
  
Kuno finally finished thinking (a difficult feat) and came to a  
erroneous, yet somehow logical(for him), conclusion. "Of course! It all  
makes sense! Akane Tendo wants an actual man to beat her. Very well, I  
shall do it!" He sprung at Akane, his wooden sword raised. He did, on  
occasion, practice a long-forgotten sport called kendo, but it was  
hardly enough to help him this day.  
  
For the youngest Tendo, the boiling point was reached. "Enough!  
COMET PUNCH!" A flash of light accompanied the attack this time,  
propelling Kuno into the sky. "Akane not want any tamer! Akane fine by  
herself!"  
  
The gathered group went deathly quiet at her outburst. Akane  
stood there, shocked, then covered her mouth and ran back into the  
house.  
  
Ranma had caught the extremely fearful look on the tomboy's  
face before she ran away, and it bothered him deep down for some reason.  
Unfortunately, his actions were severely limited due to the fact that he  
was still restrained a very affectionate pokegirl.  
  
Kodachi rubbed her cheek on his chest, mistaking the meaning  
behind his struggles. "Ranma-darling..."  
  
"Hey, leggo already!" Ranma protested.  
  
Nabiki smiled. "Allow me. Oh, Kodachi?"  
  
"Hmmm?" the other pokegirl replied, turning her face lazily to  
look at Nabiki.  
  
*POW!*  
  
Ranma blinked as Kodachi slid bonelessly to the ground, then  
realized it was because the cat-like girl had gotten violent. "Yikes!"  
He hopped back a few feet. "I mean, uh, thanks, Nabiki."  
  
"Let's just say you owe me," the Kitten replied, smirking. Just  
because she preferred brain over brawn, did not mean she was above using  
it. After all, she was a pokegirl, too. She turned to the gathered  
crowd. "Okay, show's over for today!"  
  
The group of boys grumbled, but began to disperse anyway.  
  
"Um, what about her?" Ranma asked, toeing the unconscious  
Domina.  
  
"Don't worry about that," Nabiki replied, then clapped her  
hands. "Sasuke!"  
  
The head of a diminutive man popped up from a nearby manhole.  
"Yes?"  
  
"It might be a good idea to see that Kodachi gets some rest and  
treatment, don't you agree?" she suggested.  
  
Sasuke's eyes widened as he beheld the fallen form of the  
Domina pokegirl. "Mistress Kodachi!" He bounded out of the hole,  
captured the girl in a pokeball, then dashed down the road without  
another word.  
  
Ranma stared as the girl disappeared in a flash of red light,  
only to be drawn into the small sphere. "That is so incredibly weird."  
  
  
  
  
Kuno ended his impromptu flight upside-down, his head striking  
something that was quite hard. Being naturally thick-headed, the impact  
didn't affect him much, though he realized that his cranium had struck  
another person, knocking them temporarily unconscious.  
  
"Zounds!" Kuno exclaimed, standing up. "I have caused injury to  
a fair maiden!" Quick as a wink, held the girl up and placed a bandage  
on top of her head. "There. I am sorry. Please, pardon my rudeness."  
  
Mariko Konjo's eyes came back into focus, and focus they did on  
the young man that had just knocked her out--if briefly--then treated  
her wounds. Like most girls her age, Mariko had hit threshold a year  
ago, only in her case, she simply became an Ingenue. An Ingenue was  
quite similar to a normal human girl, with only small, subtle  
differences. Still, a pokegirl is a pokegirl...  
  
"Like, wait!" she called as Kuno walked away. "I don't know your  
name!"  
  
"Nor have I given it," he replied, turning back to face her. "I  
am the Blue Thunder, Tatewaki Kuno, Age 17."  
  
Mariko blushed; she felt strange. [That's like, the first time  
I've ever received kindness from a man!] Of course, it was also the  
first time she had been knocked unconscious by one, too.  
  
She felt warm.  
  
She was in love.  
  
She was a pokegirl with rapidly-firing genetic impulses.  
  
*Glomp!* She was now attached to Blue Thunder. "Like, I love you  
so much! Why don't we go back to your place where you can have your way  
with me?"  
  
Tatewaki blinked.  
  
Party favors and confetti exploded from the top of his head.  
  
"The Blue Thunder consents to this."  
  
  
  
  
Tofu whistled as he went about the clinic. His next appointment  
wasn't for another hour and the pokegirl rejuvenation chambers were all  
empty at the moment, so he and his Nurse Joy were taking the time to  
clean up and get paperwork in order.  
  
As the young doctor made his way into the examination room, his  
eyes caught sight of something laying on the floor in the thin space  
between the desk and the wall. Curious, he reached down and picked it  
up, remembering that Ranma's pack had been resting there the day before.  
There was a possibility it had accidentally fallen out.  
  
The object appeared to a small black box; an electronic device  
of some sort. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a recorder,  
and a damaged one at that. Tofu clicked the play button expecting  
nothing to happen, but to his surprise, it began to sputter and play  
back. The message was garbled, though he was able to pick out a word or  
two. However, it didn't sound like Ranma's voice. It did seem quite  
familiar, but Tofu couldn't quite place it.  
  
Further musings were put on hold by a voice calling from the  
lobby. "Doctor Tofu?"  
  
Tofu turned off the recorder and set it down, heading out into  
the waiting room to see who had called him.  
  
And blinked at all the boys holding out pokeballs for  
treatment. "Oh, that's right, it's Sunday."  
  
  
  
  
"Akane?" Nabiki called, knocking once on Akane's door. "What's  
the matter?" Her little sister had been locked herself in her room for  
the past two hours. Nabiki had a pretty good idea why, but wanted to  
hear Akane say it.  
  
"Akane not-I mean, I'm fine!" came the call from the other side.  
  
Nabiki sighed. This was not going to be easy, which was part of  
the reason she had detoured through the kitchen and picked up lunch.  
Akane was usually easier to deal with once she had eaten, and she had  
missed lunch. Nabiki opened up the door and let herself inside, noting  
her little sister sitting on her bed and covering her teary eyes with  
both hands.  
  
"Now, now, we both now what's going on," she soothed, sitting  
down beside the obviously-distraught Tomboy pokegirl and setting the  
tray on Akane's desk. "You knew this would happen sooner or later. I'm  
actually impressed that you managed to hold it off for the past couple  
of days."  
  
And Nabiki was impressed. Once a unclaimed pokegirl was  
defeated or claimed by a tamer, genetic impulses were activated that  
clouded higher thought processes. This general lowering of intelligence  
level, allowed the baser and more animalistic side to take over. The  
term for this was "going feral" and if not tamed and imprinted by a male  
soon, a feral pokegirl became a danger to herself and those around her.  
She would most likely go on a rampage, being driven to mate with  
someone. It was a defensive mechanism implanted long ago to ensure the  
unwavering loyalty of their biological weapons.  
  
Akane lowered her hands and sniffed, twin tracks of tears  
running down her face. "Akane not want be tamed," she said, somewhat  
brokenly. "Akane... want be real girl. Akane is real girl, not Tomboy."  
She spied the lunch, felt her tummy grumble, then rapidly devoured it in  
record time.  
  
"There, there," Nabiki pacified, running her hand lightly across  
Akane's back to relax her. [I have to do this just right.] Slowly, she  
began to massage Akane's shoulders. "Remember all the fun we had as  
kids?"  
  
"Mmmmm, Akane remember," the hormonally-unbalanced pokegirl  
replied quietly, somehow feeling a bit calmer. "Was fun. Want always be  
like that."  
  
"It will be like that again," Nabiki whispered, then kissed  
Akane's cheek. "It will be."  
  
  
  
  
"Master," Sasuke called, urgently knocking a the door. "Mistress  
Kodachi has run off! I believe she is headed after young Saotome." He  
blinked at the muffled moans and groans coming from Kuno's bedroom.  
"Master?"  
  
The sounds stopped for a moment, then the door was flung open  
to reveal Kuno in a hastily-donned bathrobe. "Ye gods, man! Blue Thunder  
cannot be bothered!"  
  
"Oh, Tate-chan..." came a husky feminine call from inside.  
  
Kuno paled and trembled slightly as he gripped the door, then  
called over his shoulder, "Be right there my feisty vixen!" He turned  
back to Sasuke. "Well, go after my twisted sister! That fiend Saotome  
cannot be allowed to add another pokegirl to his harem!"  
  
Sasuke blinked as the door was slammed shut. "Yes, Master,  
right away!"  
  
  
  
  
"I need to do what?" Ranma asked in disbelief, wanted to be sure  
he heard that right. He had just finished his own lunch, a concoction of  
foods that Kasumi said was "strengthening".  
  
"I said you need to tame her," Kasumi replied, referring to  
Akane. "Nabiki's is up there right now, trying to help, but she won't be  
able to give Akane what she needs."  
  
"I suppose I can try to help, but why me?" he wondered aloud,  
puzzled, as the Mousewife led him up the stairs. "And what exactly do  
you need me to do?" He couldn't understand how forcing Akane to do  
tricks would help calm her down.  
  
"Because you defeated her," Kasumi replied. "For a pokegirl,  
being defeated by a tamer is a major event. It activates certain genetic  
and psychological traits that cannot be stopped. If she is not tamed,  
she will become feral."  
  
They stopped outside of Akane's room, and Ranma could hear the  
moans of a girl within. He shivered involuntarily. What was going on in  
there? Was Akane really that bad off? He swallowed. "What, uh, happens  
if she goes feral?"  
  
"Well, her temper will continue to increase, as will her  
strength, while rational thought will fade away. In short, she will  
eventually go on a rampage until she is put down." Kasumi sighed. "It's  
not really a pokegirl's fault when that happens."  
  
Ranma frowned. Apparently it was his fault Akane was like this.  
Even though he didn't really know the consequences of doing so, her  
current condition was a result of his actions. "Whattya need me to do?"  
he said in a resigned voice.  
  
Kasumi merely smiled, then knocked on the door. "Nabiki?"  
  
"You can come in, sis," came the call from the other side.  
  
The door opened and Ranma was ushered inside by the eldest  
sister, then froze as he beheld the scene within. Akane was topless and  
laying back on her bed, moaning. Well her top wasn't totally uncovered,  
as Nabiki's hands were...  
  
"Ack!" Ranma backpedaled while holding his nose to staunch the  
flow of blood, but was stopped as he bumped into Kasumi.  
  
"Now, now, you promised to help," Kasumi admonished him, pushing  
him gently forward.  
  
"But... but... she's... Akane's..." he spluttered, then shook  
his head. "What the hell do you mean by taming, anyway!?"  
  
Nabiki sighed. [He can't be that clueless.] A look at Ranma's  
face told her, [Oh yes he can.]  
  
Kasumi smiled. "Why, you just have to have sex with her. Isn't  
that nice?"  
  
Ranma's mouth opened and closed a few times, while he tried to  
think of an effective rebuttal. He began to sweat in nervousness (and  
arousal). "Are you SURE this is going to help her?" he said at last.  
  
Kasumi nodded, still smiling.  
  
Nabiki replied in the affirmative.  
  
Akane moaned.  
  
Ranma sweatdropped and tried to think of a way out of this.  
"Uh, look, I... well... I ain't gonna do this unless she wants to!" he  
said firmly, believing that there was no way Akane would go through with  
this. He'd take his lumps if he had to, but he was almost positive Akane  
didn't like him. Even though she was kinda cute, especially when he  
remembered her smile and how friendly she was when they first met a few  
days ago, and how she looked when she walked in on him in the furo...  
  
Ranma killed that line of thought.  
  
"That's the spirit!" Kasumi commended him.  
  
The middle Tendo glanced down at her sister, nodded once, then  
stood up and crossed the room. Ranma backed away from the feline-girl,  
his nervousness over cats overriding his nervousness about being in the  
same room with a half-naked Akane.  
  
"She should be ready for you now," Nabiki commented with a smirk  
as she stepped outside after Kasumi. "Good luck and have fun!" She  
winked at him and closed the door.  
  
Ranma looked back at Akane, and suddenly wished he hadn't, as  
his eyes unwillingly began to stare, ignoring the orders from his brain  
that he should leave. Now.  
  
Akane came out of her daze with the loss of stimulation.  
"Nabiki?" She sat up and blinked her eyes. Then noticed who was in the  
room with her. "You! What you doing in Akane's room!?"  
  
"I-yaauugh!"  
  
Ranma's reply was cut short under the sudden attachment of a  
half-naked, extremely-horny girl latched onto his front. He steadied  
himself against the wall, then froze as he realized she was *rubbing*  
herself against him.  
  
"A-A-Akane!?" he gulped, totally shocked at the girl's actions,  
and at his body's reactions. "What-mmmmmppph!" He found it difficult to  
speak with another mouth covering his own, apparently trying to  
suffocate him or something.  
  
Akane released the kiss, a part of her mind equally surprised  
at what she had done, but base primal instincts were firmly in control  
right now. "Look, you boy and pervert," she growled in a throaty voice  
that somehow scared and excited Ranma even more. "But right now Akane  
want someone and you have to do. Got it?"  
  
Ranma nodded frantically, especially since her warm right hand  
had made it's way down into his pants and boxers, and had latched itself  
around his most sensitive part. It's a strong inbred male instinct, that  
upsetting a female who has your jewels in her grasp is *not* an option.  
  
"Release Ranma," came a familiar cry. Ranma and Akane turned to  
see Kodachi slip into the room via the open window. "Ranma belong  
Kodachi. Ranma not tame stupid Tomboy, Ranma tame Kodachi instead!"  
  
Akane released the pig-tailed boy and snarled. "Stupid flower-  
girl no belong here! Ranma belong Akane!"  
  
Ranma collapsed against the wall, his manhood no longer in  
immediate danger. He watched the intelligent conversation fly back and  
forth, and could think of only one thing to say. "Aiyah..."  
  
Kodachi shrieked and sprung to the attack. "AKANE, I KILL!"  
  
Akane met her in mid-air. "KODACHI, I KILL!"  
  
What followed was not so much a skilled poke-battle, but more  
like a good old-fashioned female cat fight. Ranma dove under the bed,  
his heightened self-preservation instincts kicking in. The door was too  
far away, and on the other side of the enraged females.  
  
Two minutes later, Akane wound up her mallet like a baseball  
batter and slammed Kodachi out the window, then shut and bolted it.  
  
Ranma wondered at the sudden quiet, until the bed was lifted  
and he was grabbed roughly with one hand. Akane set down the bed with  
the other hand, slammed Ranma on it, then jumped on him, pinning him  
there. As Akane's eyes met his, Ranma felt strangely like mouse caught  
in the grip of an hawk.  
  
"No talk," Akane informed him in a commanding tone, a strange  
and intense fire burning in her brown eyes.  
  
Ranma gulped and complied nervously and readily. Of course,  
this decision had something to do with the fact that she had just  
finished tearing his clothes off(literally), and his high state of  
apprehension and nervousness made rational thought nearly impossible.  
  
Shortly thereafter, rational thought wasn't available for  
another reason entirely.  
  
  
  
  
Sasuke had finally arrived at the Tendo PokeDojo, slightly out  
of breath from a run, just in time to see his mistress depart in an  
airborne parabolic arc back the way he came.  
  
Groaning in frustration, he turned around and dashed off after  
her.  
  
  
  
  
Soun listened to the bumping and moaning coming from upstairs,  
and cried in happiness. "My little pokegirl is all grown up!"  
  
Kasumi smiled happily at the sounds, but her thoughts had  
become strangely disturbed. She put on a coat and picked up a book, then  
called out, "Father, I'm going out for a bit, I have to return  
something."  
  
She didn't wait for a response as she stepped outside, knowing  
she wouldn't get one since her father was still wailing in joy.  
  
  
  
  
Sasuke arrived back just in time to fish Kodachi out of her  
crater, then drag her inside the mansion to her room. He had just placed  
her under the covers when she stirred and moaned.  
  
"Ranma-daaarling..."  
  
"I'm terribly sorry, mistress, but Master Kuno says you are  
better off here," he said apologetically.  
  
Kodachi's eyes flickered open, and her smoldering gaze met his  
startled one.  
  
Sasuke swallowed slowly and took a step back. "Mistress?"  
  
While the urge to mate with the man who had captured and/or  
defeated a pokegirl was strong, if said pokegirl becomes desperate  
enough and that man is unavailable, another will do in a pinch.  
  
Sasuke gulped and backed up slowly towards to the door, his  
hands fumbling for Kodachi's pokeball.  
  
The Domina didn't give him the chance, her vine whip lashing  
out to encircle the manservant and pull him toward the bed.  
  
Kodachi didn't figure Sasuke for a screamer.  
  
  
  
  
Tofu finished treating all the pokegirls and sat down to rest.  
As usual, none of the injuries were too serious; Akane had used just the  
right amount of force.  
  
His gaze drifted over to see the recorder sitting on the desk  
where he had left it before he became distracted. He was just about to  
pick it up again when he heard the front door to his clinic open.  
  
"How can I help y--Ka-Ka-Kasumi! What a coincidence to meet you  
here of all places!"  
  
  
  
  
Several hours later...  
  
Ranma drifted somewhere in that void between sleep and  
wakefulness. Truthfully, he was incredibly exhausted. Despite his  
enhanced constitution, or perhaps because of it, he felt as if he had  
just barely survived an incredible life-or-death battle.  
  
Sensation tickled his senses, threatening to pull him back to  
consciousness. The feeling was something familiar, but his clouded brain  
couldn't place it. The sensation didn't feel that bad, in fact, it was  
quite pleasurable. Somehow, a thought(finally) worked it's way into  
clouded brain, telling him that maybe he should open his eyes, so he  
did.  
  
And froze at the sight of a fearsome feline face watching him,  
crouched on the end of the bed. Apparently, her front paws and tongue  
were responsible for the stimulation, part of his mind absently noted.  
  
Ranma's cat fear was a powerful thing, so powerful in fact,  
that his mind had created a cat persona to deal with it. Normally it  
took prolonged exposure to trigger his "Nekoken" state, but a sufficient  
feline shock could do as well. The highly sensitive part of him the paws  
and tongue where paying acute attention to, was more than enough to do  
the trick.  
  
Nabiki had slipped into the room intent on getting in on the  
action, but Ranma's reaction to her attempt at "preparing" him for the  
task ahead, was not quite what she expected.  
  
The middle Tendo was about to discover a whole new meaning to  
the phrase, "Hello Kitty!"  
  
  
---------------------  
  
Author's notes:  
KP: Doing a little setting up of the plot here. Don't worry if some  
things don't make sense. All will be revealed and explained in time.  
  
Shampoo: (stomps up to author, angrily) Why make stupid girls sound like  
Shampoo!? They steal Shampoo's lines and catch phrases! (Holds up signed  
piece of paper) Shampoo have exclusive contract!  
KP: (sweatdrops) Ah, aheh. Be right back folks. I hope, but before I go,  
I just wanna say thanks to HPackrat for pre-reading this... 


	4. We're off to see the Wizard!

Find my other fics at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000  
E-mail me at: oddball22@hotmail.com  
  
  
Ranma1/2  
Whole New World  
Chapter 3 - We're Off To See The Wizard! (Or, Things To Do In Indigo  
When You're A Tamer)  
  
  
  
Akane slowly came out of a very fitful sleep, as the early  
morning sun's rays cast through her window and played lightly upon her  
features. For some reason, she felt oddly comforted, even though her bed  
seemed awfully small today. She ignored that, however, and cuddled up to  
the other form in her bed.  
  
Other form!?  
  
She blinked her eyes open to see Ranma laid out on his back  
next to her. The bedsheets barely covered him, though she was able to  
tell he was as naked as she was.  
  
"RANMA, YOU PERVERT!"  
  
Well, that's what she meant to say, but it actually came out  
sounding like, "TOMBOY, TOM TOMBOY!"  
  
Still the croquet-like mallet swing was effective enough.  
*Wham!*  
  
As the nude pig-tailed boy departed via her window, Akane  
collapsed onto the bed, trembling a little as memory's of yesterday came  
rushing back at her. [Great,] she thought morosely. Despite her efforts,  
she was now a tamed pokegirl.  
  
"Akane, please keep noise down," a female voice mumbled  
sleepily. "Nabiki trying to sleep."  
  
Akane stared in shock at the brown-furred form of her sister,  
equally nude, curled up on the lower half of the bed. Then she recalled  
being woken up in the middle of the night by the bed shaking, only to  
see Nabiki on her hands and knees with Ranma bent over her. The total  
weirdness of the situation made her think it was only a dream, until  
Ranma finished with her sister and jumped on her.  
  
But it was real. All of it.  
  
"Tomboy," Akane sighed in exasperation.  
  
  
  
  
Ranma-chan sputtered as she surfaced in the pond. "Damn it, Pop  
I-"  
  
The rest of her words died on her lips as she realized her  
father couldn't have thrown her into this pond. The old man did have a  
habit of waking Ranma up by flinging her into water, even before the  
curse, but he wasn't here now. And if it wasn't him, how did she end up  
here?  
  
As Ranma-chan stepped out of the pond and walked toward the  
house heedless of her own nudity, she tried to think back on last night.  
Images and sensations slowly came back to her, leaving her with a small  
smile on her face. What had happened was unlike anything Ranma had  
experienced before. It was quite a workout, being incredibly more  
intense and physically demanding than her match with Akane several days  
before.  
  
It also confused the hell out of her, so she decided to deal  
with the same she dealt with anything she didn't really want to  
understand: She ignored it.  
  
"Good morning, Mr. Tendo," Ranma said absently, a small portion  
of her mind noting the father stepping into the living room while  
brushing his teeth.  
  
"Good morning, Ran-urk!" Soun froze in shock as a completely  
oblivious, and completely nude, female Ranma walked by him.  
  
Ranma-chan ignored him, however, as she headed upstairs to get  
some clothes.  
  
  
  
  
Nabiki smirked to herself as Akane got off the bed and headed  
to the door in a zombiefied state, walking slightly different. The  
Kitten pokegirl knew she would most likely end up walking a little  
different after last night as well, but would get over it in time.  
  
She stretched and yawned, pleased at how events had turned out.  
Her original plan had been to seduce Ranma after Akane had finished with  
him, figuring Ranma would be more agreeable to it. She wasn't expecting  
him to take the initiative, nor to act like a tomcat just for her (Being  
a cat-type pokegirl, the position had been one of her favorites). But  
based on what she observed before she joined in, she absently wondered  
just who tamed who.  
  
Nabiki slid off the bed, stood up, caught a good whiff of the  
scent that permeated the room with her sensitive nose, then decided a  
bath was in order.  
  
  
  
  
Across town, someone else also woke up to the gentle caresses  
of fingers playing across his chest. Tatewaki Kuno, legend in his own  
mind, took note of his surroundings and the girl that was cradled  
against him, and grinned.  
  
"Mmmm, Maaaster..." came the contented whisper from the girl.  
She sleepily blinked her eyes open. "Oooh, Master tame Mariko so goood."  
  
"But of course," Kuno replied, his already-huge ego swelling  
considerably. "The Blue Thunder is a naturally-skilled lover, and you  
have but sampled a mere fraction of my prowess."  
  
His grin widened as he remembered just how good he was,  
recalling the fact that Mariko had started to glow that final time,  
signaling the fact that she was evolving. Just to be sure, he grabbed  
his pokedex and flipped it open. {Damsel, the ego-gratification  
pokegirl. This evolved form of Ingenue possesses very few attacks, but  
does have a very strong resistance to damage. Being heroically rescued  
is a big turn-on for Damsels.}  
  
"My hero," Mariko cooed.  
  
Kuno blinked. "Of course, only my supreme manliness could  
possess such a strong ability to evolve pokegirls through the strength  
of my love! Now I must step up my attempt to win Akane Tendo so that she  
may partake of my manliness as well. Clearly, I have a powerful destiny  
ahead, to wield such a gift!"  
  
Kuno laughed maniacally, while Mariko simply gazed at her new  
Master with stars of adoration in her eyes.  
  
  
  
  
Several rooms down, Sasuke also awoke, but wished he hadn't.  
  
He also wished he could move, but he couldn't; the mryriad  
amounts of ribbons, leather straps, and vine whips saw to that. Of  
course, they also kept Kodachi bound, but the fact that they kept her  
bound to him, was not exactly a comforting thought.  
  
Kodachi stirred and moaned against him. "Sasuke-Ranma-  
daaarling..."  
  
Sasuke whimpered.  
  
  
  
  
Tofu went about his morning routine, a goofy grin plastered on  
his face. Truth be told, he wasn't sure why he was feeling so great when  
he got up this morning, but then again, he didn't have much command over  
his mental faculties at the moment to even contemplate the matter.  
  
"Good morning, Betty-chan!" the doctor greeted, holding the  
skeleton a loving embrace. "Isn't it a wonderful day?" He swung Betty  
around once, her bony foot accidentally knocking something off the  
table.  
  
That something, began to sputter and speak. "Feb...ry  
twent.....ird.......rnying to...west... theory  
of......thin......ti....I.......ne."  
  
"Why hello Professor Kao, what brings you by?" Tofu asked  
cheerily, then froze. Like a rubber band that had been stretched too far  
and then released, the doctor's mental state snapped back to normal,  
then he put Betty back and snatched the recorder off the ground. "That's  
it! That's where I recognize the voice from!"  
  
Tofu wondered why he didn't figure this out earlier, then  
remembered yesterday. He had spent most of the day treating pokegirls,  
and then Kasumi had shown up that evening. The goofy grin threatened to  
return, but he fought it down.  
  
"You fool, that's what got you into this mess," he berated  
himself. "Her family needs her more than I do." The doctor sighed, then  
shifted his thoughts back to the recorder, shifting it in his hand as he  
contemplated the matter. "Ranma had this in his pack, yet this  
electronic journel belongs to my old professor. How did Ranma get it?  
That must mean that Ranma was partially telling the truth." He sighed  
heavily as he collapsed in his office chair. "Kao, my old friend, just  
what have you gotten yourself into?"  
  
"Doctor," came the pleasent voice of his Nurse Joy. "The Pidgy  
and the Vixxen have finished their rejuvenation cycle."  
  
Tofu turned and nodded. "Good. Then why don't you contact  
Hiroshi and Daisuke that Yuka and Sayuri are ready for pick-up?" He  
glanced at the recorder in his hand. "I'm going to be busy for the next  
hour or two."  
  
Nurse Joy smiled. "Of course, doctor, it would be my pleasure."  
She closed the door as she left.  
  
Tofu continued to study the mini-recording device, then pushed  
the rewind button. [Let's find out just what exactly you've been up to,  
Professor.]  
  
  
  
  
Nabiki smirked as she stepped into the changing room. She had  
just passed Ranma-chan on the way, and enjoyed the look on the redhead's  
face when Ranma caught sight of Nabiki's furry nude form. She merely  
smiled as Ranma plastered herself to the ceiling. While the middle Tendo  
like people to fear her, Ranma's reaction was a bit much. She'd have to  
look into a way of dealing with that.  
  
Later, Nabiki decided. She was feeling too good right now.  
  
The Kitten pokegirl stepped into the washroom, not surprised to  
see Akane already soaking in a bathtub, the steam wafting from the water  
signaling that it was hot. Nabiki exhaled nosily as she beheld her  
sister's morose and downcast expression. [Oh boy, looks like my little  
sis is still in denial.]  
  
She stepped into one of the shower stalls and turned the water  
on, delighting in the feel of the cool water cascading through her fur.  
Cat-types were usually not that fond of water, but Nabiki found she was  
a special case. It was one of her little quirks.  
  
Two more empty tubs and four more broken down stalls rounded  
out the washroom, but ever since the Tendo PokeDojo and Breeder Ranch  
had fallen on hard times, those amenities had gone unused. Nabiki  
chalked it up to the loss of their mother, their father's less-than-  
capable state, and the big breeder ranch that moved into the nearby town  
of Juban. It tended to soak up all the business  
  
"Listen, Akane, you no can deny what happen," Nabiki told the  
depressed Tomboy. Internally, she swore. Having just been tamed for the  
first time, her mind was undergoing a few alterations to imprint her new  
tamer, and that was still cutting into her speech ability. She hated  
sounding like a bimbo. "Ranma is nice guy. At least he better than  
Kuno." Nabiki smiled as Akane shivered, glad to finally get a reaction  
out of her sister.  
  
"Tomboy," Akane huffed, still staring at the water.  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes, then continued to lather up. "You know,  
if you quit fighting and accept it, you get voice back quicker." She  
smiled a little, having almost gotten her own voice back to normal.  
  
Akane slid down a little further in the water. "Tom tom  
tomboy."  
  
"I know you don't like it," Nabiki replied, taking a moment to  
duck under the spray and rinse the soap off. "But moping like a spoiled  
child won't change the facts." She turned off the spray and began to  
towel off, moving over to the edge of the tub to look her sister in the  
eye. "You have two choices: Either continue to mope around, in which  
case Ranma will most likely trade you off to someone else for a better  
pokegirl. Or, you can brighten up and try to make the best out of the  
situation. Like I'm doing."  
  
The middle Tendo turned and left the washroom, leaving Akane  
alone with her thoughts. The depressed Tomboy returned her sullen gaze  
to the steaming water, looking for answers but finding none.  
  
  
  
  
Ranma-chan polished off the last of her breakfast. She had  
decided to remain in female form for the moment, since Nabiki had  
informed that Akane was in the bath. Of course, the Kitten pokegirl  
suggested that Ranma join her younger sister, but somehow Ranma got the  
feeling that it wasn't such a good idea. Maybe she'd take a hot bath  
after a good morning workout.  
  
Looking across the table, the boy-turned-girl noticed that  
Akane appeared to be a depressed mood, in stark contrast to the happier  
mood of Nabiki. Even Kasumi seemed a little bit perkier this morning.  
For her own part, Ranma felt a little better, though she was still a  
quite confused about the strange circumstances she found herself in.  
Still, if she learned one thing from her father, it's that one takes  
advantage of every situation for training.  
  
Standing up and stretching, Ranma decided that she wanted a  
sparring partner, and the Tomboy pokegirl was really the only option at  
the moment. Soun looked like he might have had a little training at one  
time, but he was nowhere near Ranma's league. Kasumi just seemed to nice  
and gentle to fight, and facing a fierce cat-girl was not high on  
Ranma's list of Very Enjoyable Things. She had gotten to the point of  
being able to tolerate Nabiki in the same room, but close contact still  
made the red-head nervous.  
  
Ranma retreated to the yard, but still kept the dining room in  
sight as she began to work out. She waited until Akane finished with her  
meal and stood, tightening her gi belt.  
  
"Hey, Akane, wanna spar?"  
  
Akane stopped, then looked up and blinked at the redhead.  
"What?"  
  
"Come on, it'll be fun!" Ranma said, smiling a little. "Don't  
worry, I'll go easy on you, since it ain't like you can hurt me or  
anything."  
  
Akane's forehead scrunched up a little as she scowled. "What  
you mean I no can hurt you?" She grit her teeth, hating how stupid she  
sounded, but glad she could say more than one word now. She also hated  
these new thoughts running through her head.  
  
Ranma rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. But I thought you could use  
the exercise."  
  
Nabiki stared at the pig-tailed girl in confusion, and  
wondered, [Is he intentionally trying to make Akane angry?] She turned  
to study her younger sister, and sighed at the expected result. Akane's  
fists were clenched at her sides, and Nabiki could swear that she saw a  
vein throbbing on Akane's forehead. [Hurricane Akane strikes again.]  
  
"Are you saying I'm fat!?"  
  
"Well, not fat, but you you thighs are a little chunky and your  
waist is a bit wide..." Ranma trailed off and shrugged innocently.  
  
"DIE RANMA!"  
  
Ranma grinned as Akane launched herself off the veranda, fists  
swinging.  
  
  
  
  
Thirty minutes of intense combat later left Ranma out of  
breath, but grinning in exuberance. He looked over to see Akane equally  
winded, if not more so, and panting as she lay against the outer wall.  
As the redhead expected, Akane was nearly a match for her. The Tomboy  
possessed great strength, but her speed wasn't as great as Ranma's.  
Akane also tended to go for pure power moves, as oppossed to the  
graceful strikes and acrobatics that Ranma used.  
  
[A little more speed and some focus trainin', and she might be a  
match for me,] Ranma deduced.  
  
As Akane's deep gulps of air became less and less, she glanced  
over at her opponent, and scowled at his smirking face. It was bad  
enough that she was a tamed pokegirl, but her tamer was a better fighter  
as well. "What are you looking at?" The words didn't come out as harsh  
as she wanted, mostly due to her exhaustion.  
  
"Heh, you," Ranma answered, grinning. Overall, the practice had  
been good, as she had learned more of Akane's style and incorporated it  
into her own. She walked over to give the raven-haired girl a hand up.  
"Not too shabby. How long have you been doin' martial arts?"  
  
The question caught Akane off-guard, and for some reason she  
found it hard to hold onto her anger. The workout had felt pretty good  
to her as well, so she hesitantly accepted the hand up. "Um, I've been  
training most of life."  
  
Further conversation was put on hold as a face poked into the  
yard from the front gate. "Hello? Anybody home?"  
  
"Oh, Doctor Tofu, good morning!" Akane called, waving her hand  
to get his attention after both her and Ranma turned to see who it was.  
  
Tofu smiled and started towards them. "Why, good morning to  
you, too, Akane!"  
  
Ranma blinked as he looked back and forth between the doctor  
and Akane, and wondered at the sudden change in Akane's expression and  
demeanor. At first she appeared confused and a little angry, but as soon  
as Tofu appeared, her face brightened and she seemed a bit happier, as  
well as a little embarrassed. A light blush also colored her cheeks.  
  
"I haven't seen you in my clinic lately," the doctor was saying  
with an amused smile. "No new injuries?"  
  
Akane's embarrassed blush deepened a bit. "No, I mean I've been  
taking care of myself!"  
  
Tofu chuckled. "Ah, well, are you going to introduce me to your  
new friend?"  
  
"It's me, Ranma," said the pigtailed girl, surprised. "You were  
the one who sent me here, remember?"  
  
Tofu leaned forward to take a closer look, adjusting his  
glasses. "Ah, of course, Ranma. You look a little different from last  
time!"  
  
"It's a Jusenkyo curse," Ranma replied, a little sullenly. "It's  
why I came here in the first place, because some professor guy said he  
could cure it."  
  
The doctor appeared quite intrigued as he studied Ranma.  
"Fascinating! But that reminds me of why I came." He held up the mini-  
recorder. "I believe this fell out of your pack. It's an electronic  
journal that belongs to my old professor, David Kao, though how you  
ended up with it, I don't know. It does partially verify your story,  
however, as my old professor was working on a variety of subjects,  
including advanced genetics. Who knows what he's done now, to bring you  
here?"  
  
"But if you have his journal, can't you tell what he was working  
on?" Akane questioned.  
  
"I'm afraid it's been damaged," Tofu admitted regretfully. "And  
I haven't been able to contact him using any of my normal methods." He  
turned to Ranma. "But I do know where his lab is. If you go there, you  
might be able to find out where he is and what he is working on. Maybe  
even a way home."  
  
Ranma's eyes lit up at that. "Maybe even a cure..." The  
redhead's thoughts were filled with returning home to her pandafied  
father as a full man. [Take that pops!]  
  
Akane spared a glance at Ranma and felt a sad twinge at the  
thought of him leaving, never to return. But she just chalked it up to  
the fact that he was her tamer, so it was just her genetic impulses  
talking. It's not like she really cared about him.  
  
"I heated some hot water for you, Ranma," came Kasumi's gentle  
voice. She stepped off the veranda and handed the pig-tailed girl a  
kettle, which was quickly nabbed and enthusiastically used. "Oh my, we  
have company! Greetings Doctor Tofu."  
  
A pair of glasses decided to fog up. "Hu-hu-hello, K-Kasumi!"  
*Crunch!*  
  
Ranma's eyes widened in disbelief as the doc crushed the  
recorder in his grip. "What'd you that for!?" Then he blinked as Tofu's  
goofy gaze turned on him. In his periphal vision, Ranma noticed that  
Akane had taken a few steps backward, a saddened and forlorn expression  
on her face.  
  
"Oh, you mean this?" Tofu held out the recorder, which Ranma  
quickly snatched.  
  
"You broke it!" Ranma exclaimed, dismayed. This thing supposedly  
held clues on how to find the guy responsible for bringing him here.  
  
"Oh dear, that's not good," Tofu conceeded, patting Ranma's  
shoulder.  
  
"Would you like to come in for tea and cookies, Doctor Tofu?"  
Kasumi asked innocently.  
  
*Crack!* "OW!" After the pain subsided, Ranma wondered why the  
world suddenly presented itself at a 90 degree angle.  
  
Tofu removed his hand from Ranma as he turned back to the  
Mousewife. "Why Kasumi, I'd love to drink your cookies and eat your  
tea!"  
  
Kasumi giggled. "You're so silly, Tofu!"  
  
"What the hell did you to to me!?" Ranma demanded to know, as he  
felt his neck.  
  
Tofu turned to study the pig-tailed youth. "Oh, how did that  
happen? Let me fix it." *Crack!*  
  
"AUGH!" Ranma commented as his viewpoint was adjusted 180  
degrees. Internally he was cursing. Since the doc seemed to be going  
nuts, Ranma turned to ask Akane what was going on, only to see her turn  
and run off towards the rear of the dojo. Curious, and not wanting to  
hang around the doc's tender-loving hands, he took off after her.  
  
"Oh, it looks Akane and Ranma have left us alone," Kasumi  
declared sunnily, smiling.  
  
"I wonder why th-mmmmppppphhh!"  
  
Kasumi let him up for air after a good ten seconds. "Oh, silly  
me, I forgot to ask why you came by!"  
  
Moving as if he had just swallowed a bottle full of earthquake  
pills, Tofu reached into his brown gi and pulled a piece of paper,  
handing it to Kasumi. He nodded once to her, then sprung away, doing  
several cartwheels on the outer stone wall, laughing madly all the  
while.  
  
Kasumi giggled once more as the good doctor leapt out of sight.  
  
  
  
  
"Not that I don't mind the walk or nothin', but aren't there any  
trains or cabs or something we can take to get there quicker?" Ranma  
asked his two traveling companions, nonchalantly.  
  
Nabiki huffed, annoyed at the way Ranma was keeping his  
distance, walking on the opposite side of the forest path. Akane was  
walking between them. "There used to be, a long time ago. They were all  
destroyed in the Great War. A few new automobiles are built and used,  
but they're mainly confined to the big cities. Traveling in the country,  
like we're doing, is usually done by walking or animal-drawn wagons."  
  
"Ah," Ranma comment, not really caring, but trying to make some  
conversation. Instead, he gave up.  
  
The past couple of hours had been pretty quiet as they followed  
the map and instructions Tofu had left with Kasumi. Once more, he  
fingered the damaged recording device enclosed in a plastic bag, that  
was sitting in his pocket. With any luck, he could find someone to  
repair it, or recover the data, so he could locate this Professor Kao,  
get his curse cured, and find his way home.  
  
He glanced to his right, wondering why the girls had come with  
him. Oh sure, they said it was because he was their tamer, but Ranma had  
yet to figure out what that meant. So he decided to just go with the  
flow for now. He also fingered the two pokeballs attached to his new  
belt. Soun had informed Ranma as to their use, but the pigtailed martial  
artist couldn't actually see himself using them. Keeping girls locked up  
in them just didn't seem right, and he thought he saw a flash of fear  
and loathing whenever Akane glanced at her own pokeball.  
  
Akane adjusted her beltpack, wondering why she let Nabiki talk  
her into this. Of course, it wasn't totally Nabiki's fault really, it  
was all Ranma's fault. She was fine before he showed up and defeated  
her, and he could be such an insulting jerk. But then there were times  
like ealier that morning, after Tofu had showed up. Ranma had come after  
her when she had run away and tried to cheer her up, even to the point  
of calling her `cute'. Akane had wanted to stay mad and depressed, but  
now found she couldn't.  
  
The Tomboy pokegirl snuck a sideways glance at Ranma, and  
wondered why he was so different from the other boys she knew, as she  
fingered the small pendant hidden in her shirt. Her father had given it  
to her before they left, saying that their mother had wanted her to have  
it when she left on her pokegirl journey. She didn't know why that was  
the case; she was just glad to carry something of her mother's.  
  
Nabiki frowned as she walked along, trying to make sense of  
this trip. On one hand, they were finally starting their journey. But on  
the other, if Ranma was successful in finding this Professor Kao, he  
would be sent home, wherever that was. She wasn't buying this "from  
another world" nonsense, but if Ranma did find his home, he might stop  
his journey. Nabiki couldn't allow that. They needed to move around,  
fight other tamers and pokegirls, and draw attention. In short, become  
famous. Then the riches and easy lifestyle would follow, and Nabiki  
could relax and be happy. Of course, this meant she had to keep Ranma  
moving. And of course, another taming session wouldn't hurt, if she  
could do something about his fear.  
  
The brown-furred Kitten carried a small pendant in her shirt as  
well, also given to her by her father. Neither of the girls knew that  
the other had been given a similar pendant, though. The small piece of  
jewlery was pure white, in an elongated diamond shape made of ceramics,  
with a small blue sapphire gem in the middle. The difference was that  
Akane's had a yellow gem instead, though Nabiki felt the same way about  
having something of their mother's.  
  
She stopped suddenly, ears twitching. "Do you hear something?"  
  
Ranma and Akane stopped as well, and looked back at her  
curiously, each answering in the negative after a few moments of  
listening. Nabiki ignored them, as her sensitive hearing was highly  
superior than any humans' and better than most pokegirls. Only Kasumi  
and few other types could compete. But the sound she was hearing now,  
almost sound like...  
  
Buzzing?  
  
Nabiki's eyes widened in fear. "We have to go. Now!"  
  
"Nabiki, what-" Akane tried to ask, but was cut off as her older  
sister began to push both her and Ranma down the path.  
  
"A swarm of Buzzbreasts, I think," the Kitten informed them in a  
rush. "And they're getting closer!"  
  
"I don't hear anything," Ranma countered, somewhat annoyed that  
a girl could sense something he couldn't.  
  
"Just listen to her, Ranma!" Akane yelled at him, beginning to  
run herself.  
  
That yell, coupled with the hiss from Nabiki, was enough to get  
the young Saotome moving at a rapid pace, but it was for naught. In  
under a minute, Akane spotted the swarm bearing down on them, numbering  
about ten in all. They were yellowish, about four feet in height, and  
mostly human-looking except for the rapidly fluttering wings, insectoid  
eyes, and the sharp stingers protruding from their nipples.  
  
Ranma took one look at them and his eyes bulged, then his face  
became firm as he stopped and turned. "Ranma Saotome don't run from  
anyone, and we ain't gonna be able to outrun them."  
  
Akane stopped, her jaw dropped in disbelief as she beheld Ranma  
preparing to face the Buzzbreasts on his own. "You IDIOT!" she screamed,  
even as she found herself running back towards him at top speed. She  
knocked him to the ground a split second before the insect  
anthropomorphs struck.  
  
"Supid idiots," Nabiki mumbled under breath as she witnessed  
Akane's strike. The group of Buzzbreasts split up as they dove at the  
group, otherwise Nabiki knew Akane wouldn't have stood much of a chance.  
  
The Tomboy pokegirl sidestepped the first one, carefully  
avoiding it's poison filled stingers, and slammed her left elbow into  
the back of it's neck. As it hit the ground behind her, Akane struck out  
with her right fist, landing a straight punch into the face of the next  
insect pokegirl. While it was dazed, Akane grabbed it's arm and threw it  
into a third, then noticed the other two were headed for Ranma, who was  
beginning to get up. Without further thought, she dove and tackled Ranma  
to the ground once more.  
  
Nabiki could only take note of Akane's first attack, as the  
other five were headed straight for her, and she could think of only one  
thing to say: "Oh crap."  
  
Using her natural cat-like agility, Nabiki dodged and wove  
between her attackers, barely evading the erect stingers. Lacking the  
strength of her sister, she could only strike out with her claws for a  
couple of scratch attacks, but she was able to flip over the last one  
and lash out sith both feet, impacting it's backside and proppelling the  
Buzzbreast into a tree.  
  
Then she was racing full out, dropping to all fours as she  
sprinted to where Ranma was getting up from beneath Akane. Upon  
arriving, Nabiki knew something was wrong by the way Ranma was picking  
the listless Tomboy up, and then Nabiki saw that the single diagonal  
tear across the backside of her sister's gi.  
  
"She isn't moving!" Ranma half-yelled at Nabiki as the Kitten  
approached.  
  
Nabiki took a quick glance at Akane's dilated eyes and checked  
her pulse. "She's just paralyzed. Carry her or put her in her pokeball,  
but we have to go." She glanced around warily, noting that the insect  
pokegirls that had been knocked down were in the process of getting back  
up, while the rest were flying high overhead, preparing for another  
pass.  
  
Ranma glanced into Akane's fearful brown eyes. "I'll carry  
her." He hefted her into his arms, then sprung after Nabiki as the  
Kitten pokegirl took off through the forest. He spared a glance  
backward, where the Buzzbreasts were regrouping. "We'll never outrun  
them!"  
  
Nabiki twitched her ears. "You're right, this way!" She  
suddenly veered off to the side.  
  
Ranma dashed after her, only to come up short when Nabiki  
stopped. "What?" Then he realized that she had stopped at the edge of a  
small cliff; a rushing river ran about six feet below. "Are you crazy!?"  
  
"Buzzbreasts don't like water," Nabiki yelled at him, over the  
noise of the ever-increasing buzzing. "And the current should carry us  
beyond their territory."  
  
Ranma took one look back at the approaching swarm, then looked  
down at Akane. "Hold on!" Her eyes flashed with fear and worry, but she  
understood.  
  
He nodded once to Nabiki, and the pair jumped in.  
  
  
  
  
"What!?" Kuno bellowed. "My fierce Akane Tendo has been spirited  
away by the fiend Saotome?" [Doubtless the vile Saotome knew of my  
coming, and fled in pusillanimity!]  
  
"Oh yes, they left just this morning," Kasumi told him  
pleasantly.  
  
"Obviously, my beloved Ranma-darling as been ensnared by that  
harpy, Akane Tendo," Kodachi stated with disgust. "Oh, I look forward to  
the day when I have reduced Akane Tendo to my servant!" Images flooded  
through her mind of a docile Akane tending to her every whim, all the  
while saying, "Yes, Mistress."  
  
"Then if I make haste, I may yet seize the moment and the  
prize!" Kuno declared. "Pray tell, of whence Saotome has taken thy fair  
sister?"  
  
The Mousewife put a finger to her lips as she thought about it.  
"If you mean where they went, I believe they were headed north, on the  
old Viridian Forest route. If you hurry, you may catch up to them." She  
smiled at him, thinking that Ranma would be thrilled to have such a good  
friend for a traveling partner. It was obvious this young Tatewaki boy  
showed a great deal of concern for both Ranma and Akane, and even some  
of Nabiki's time seemed to be spent with him.  
  
"Then I must beg your leave," Kuno told her, bowing politely,  
then holding his bokken up high "I go to right wrongs and triumph over  
evil!"  
  
"Wrong speech, brother-dear," Kodachi corrected. "But I share  
the sentiment. Let us be off! Ohohohoho!"  
  
And with that, Team Bokken departed, knowing that their success  
was already assured.  
  
Well, _they_ thought so, anyway...  
  
  
---------------------------  
Author's notes:  
  
KP: Once again, please welcome Shampoo of the Amazon tribe, as my co-  
host for these author's notes!  
  
Shampoo: (waves happily) Nihao!  
  
KP: Well, I didn't get everything in this chapter I wanted to, because  
several parts ran longer than I expected. But, I shall adapt. However,  
the real question is: Will Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki survive?  
  
Shampoo: Hmph. Of course Ranma survive. (stars appear in her eyes) Airen  
is strong and brave. Only too-too stupid mans think Ranma not survive.  
My Airen can triumph over any obstacle! Shampoo not say same for  
pervert-girl and mercenary-girl, though. (Whips out a long sword and  
points it at the author) Now, when you write Shampoo into fic?  
  
KP: (Bigsweats) Uh, patience! I've got you written in, in a future  
chapter, I swear!  
  
Shampoo: (Frowns, put pust the sword away) Okay, but stupid author  
better put Shampoo in soon.  
  
KP: (laughs nervously) A-heh-heh. Anyway folks, we'll see you next time!  
And a special thanks to Hpackrat for prereading this section!  
  
Shampoo: (waves again) Bai bai! 


	5. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World!

Find my other fics at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000  
E-mail me at: oddball22@hotmail.com  
  
Beginning Author's note: On whim, I've changed Akane's Comet Punch to  
Megaton Punch. Sounds better for what it does, and Comet punch will be  
used later. Also, I made minor edits to the earlier parts.  
  
Ranma1/2  
Whole New World  
Chapter 4 - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World! (Or, I don't think we're in  
Kansas Anymore...)  
  
  
  
  
Ranma fought to keep her head above water as the rushing rapids  
pulled her violently along. In addition, she had to work to keep Akane's  
head above water as well, and the pig-tailed girl cursed her weaker  
female body, as it lacked the muscle and stamina of her male form.  
  
Bobbing along in the white water, Ranma had caught scattered  
glimpses of the brown-furred form of Nabiki, but was unable to tell how  
she was doing. Ranma hoped the Kitten pokegirl was doing okay, but  
figured she probably better off since she didn't have an additional body  
to worry about. If only that girl swimming next to her would help.  
  
Ranma blinked. [Wait a minute... Girl?]  
  
A quick glance confirmed that, yes, it was a girl. At least, it  
looked like a girl, if they came with a coating of silvery-blue fish  
scales that is. Compared to what Ranma had seen so far, she figured this  
shouldn't surprise her. Nor should the webbing between the fish-girl's  
fingers, or the fact that the she was naked from what Ranma could see,  
though the other girl didn't seem to care.  
  
Stunned, Ranma could only stare as the fish-like girl swam next  
to him for several seconds. In response, the fish girl studied Ranma  
with a curious look, then frowned.  
  
The next thing Ranma knew, she was getting a face full of a  
powerful water stream. Ranma instinctively tightened her grip on Akane  
as they were sent tumbling over the top of the river.  
  
[What the hell was that about?] Ranma wondered as she coughed up  
water, surfacing from the end splashdown. She checked, and confirmed  
that her human cargo was okay.  
  
Shaking it off, Ranma looked for Nabiki and spotted her after  
cresting the next rapid, and realized the cat-like girl was actually  
swimming downstream. Ranma wondered for a second what the other girl was  
doing, but a glance ahead of her revealed what Nabiki was up to: A long  
branch hung out over the river, about four feet above the waterline.  
  
[But will she able to reach it?] Ranma wondered, then winced as  
the rapids slammed her into a large rock, then pulled her around it. Her  
unspoken question was answered when Nabiki shot out of the water like a  
rocket and grabbed the branch, flipping around to land on top in a  
crouching stance. She met Ranma's gaze, then held out her arms and  
nodded.  
  
Ranma understood and gathered up Akane in her arms as best as  
she could. Despairing for a moment, the pig-tailed girl wondered if she  
would have the strength for this; the river ride was taxing her  
endurance, but somehow she actually felt her muscles getting stronger,  
not weaker.  
  
Shoving that thought aside for the moment, Ranma braced herself  
as she drifted towards Nabiki's position. With a mighty throw, stronger  
than she thought herself currently capable of, Ranma hurled Akane into  
the air. Nabiki's eyes widened as the paralyzed form of her sister flew  
over her head instead of into her arms. Growling, Nabiki leapt into the  
air and snagged Akane, then bounded off the branch with a second leap.  
Nabiki landed on the shore, but her sister's added weight overbalanded  
her, and the momentum of the leap caused both siblings to fall and  
tumble.  
  
Ranma grinned to herself. [They made it! Now it's my turn.]  
  
Finding herself growing with strength she didn't know she  
possessed, Ranma swam to shore with powerful strokes. In no time, she  
was pulling her soaked body ashore, feeling only moderately sore and  
tired. Curious, Ranma stood up, studying her arms and hands, wondering  
where this burst of strength was coming from.  
  
"I must be better than I thought!" Ranma said to herself,  
grinning.  
  
"Pervert!" came the female cry.  
  
Ranma looked up in surprise as Akane strained to sit up, slowly.  
"Huh? Aren't you supposed to be paralyzed or something?"  
  
"Oh sure, now she chooses to recover," Nabiki offered in a snide  
and unhappy voice as she rose to a kneeling position, then looked over  
at Ranma. "Tomboys have a strong healing factor, allowing them to  
recover faster than most pokegirls," she explained.  
  
True to Nabiki's word, Akane eventually stood up, wobbled a  
little, then stalked over to her tamer, a none too friendly look on her  
face all the while. "So, did you enjoy getting an eyeful of that Selkie  
while you nearly drowned me?"  
  
Ranma looked affronted. "Hey, I saved your life back there! You  
should be grateful!"  
  
Akane scowled. "And what was the big idea with that stupid  
stunt you pulled back there? Why didn't you run when Nabiki told you  
to?"  
  
"Hey, Ranma Saotome don't run from anybody!" the pig-tailed girl  
nearly shouted. "If you hadn't knocked me to the ground and gotten  
yourself paralyzed, I would have been just fine!"  
  
"You nearly got yourself killed!" Akane countered, jabbing a  
finger into Ranma's sternum. "How are we supposed to protect you if you  
take stupid risks!?"  
  
"Hey, I can take care of myself just fine!" Ranma yelled back.  
"I don't need you!"  
  
Akane speared the pig-tailed girl with an angry and hurt look.  
"Ranma, you jerk!" *Wham!*  
  
Ranma rubbed her reddened cheek from she sat on the ground,  
watching Akane run off into the forest. For some reason, she felt bad,  
but she didn't know why. "What'd I do?"  
  
Nabiki sighed, then stood and shook herself, spraying water off  
her fur. "You really have no clue, do you, *Master*?" She drawled out  
`Master', lacing it with a sarcasm. "If you had gotten stung, you would  
have been frozen for days. Or if the the venom had been stronger, you  
would be dead now. Fortunately, it's mating season for the Buzzbreasts,  
so they were using their paralysis toxin. They reproduce by finding  
unlucky victims, paralyzing them, then dragging the poor sap back to  
their hive where they cocoon them. In a few weeks, you emerge as a new  
Buzzbreast with all your previous memories wiped. Now do you see?"  
  
Ranma backpedaled under the fierce-looking Kitten, but the pig-  
tailed girl only made it a couple of feet before the trunk of a tree  
halted her backwards movement. "But... that's crazy!" she countered  
uncertainly, her voice wavering a little. This world was getting wierder  
and wierder by the minute!  
  
"Maybe so, but that's the way it is," Nabiki told him, not  
really caring she was scaring him. "You see, the deal here is that we  
protect you, and you keep us sane and happy. And given your less-than-  
knowledgeable self, I'd think you'd listen to us and let us do our job!"  
Nabiki sighed with disgust and started to walk away. "Look, it's getting  
late. I'm going to go find Akane. I suggest you set up camp."  
  
Ranma gave a sighed of relief, then frowned as Nabiki  
disappeared into the forest in the direction Akane had run. Strange  
thoughts were going through her redhead, and she was quite disturbed by  
them. However, deep thinking was never a strong Saotome trait.  
  
"Stupid girls," Ranma finally huffed as she cleared her mind.  
She then slipped off her pack and began to set up a camp, only to  
realize that her things were soaked. She sighed. "Guess I need to build  
a fire first."  
  
  
  
  
"Hiyah!" *Crack!* *Creeeaaaack* *Crash!*  
  
Akane stood there staring at the tree she had just felled with  
her bare hands, but her mind was on something else altogether. Why did  
he have to be such a jerk? Why was she out here at all? And why was she  
letting that sex-changing pervert get to her?  
  
She sat down on the newly-fallen log and sighed heavily. She  
knew she'd have to go back soon, but she wasn't up to facing her new  
tamer just yet. He just infuriated her, and she didn't really know why.  
  
"Oh good, you're working on the firewood." Akane looked up to  
see her sister leaning against another tree. "What do you say I give you  
a hand, before heading back. Ranma should be setting up camp now."  
  
Akane snorted. "What makes you think I'm going back?"  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "You know you will. He's arrogant and  
stupid, but at least he's not Kuno. He means well, but I get the  
impression he really doesn't know how the world works." She smiled.  
"Just be glad that I came along with you."  
  
"Nabiki," Akane said, suddenly growing curious. "Why did you  
come along?"  
  
The Kitten shrugged. "We're domesticated pokegirls and our  
father runs a breeder ranch and dojo. It was only a matter of time  
before I got a tamer, so I figured I'd choose who I go with." She smiled  
lazily. "Anyway, I always wanted to go out and see the world."  
  
Akane shook her head. "You're crazy, sis. But, I guess I'm glad  
you came along."  
  
"That's the spirit," Nabiki replied, smiling. "Now, how about  
that log? We'll need a good fire to dry off."  
  
Akane nodded, the gripped the large tree and lifted it off the  
ground, heading back for where they left Ranma.  
  
  
  
  
"Can we slow down, Master Kuno?" Sasuke pleaded, panting.  
  
Tatewaki Kuno didn't relent his pace one bit as the quartet  
fast-walked down the forest path. "Nay, we must make haste. No doubt  
Saotome has wasted no time in enslaving the fierce Akane Tendo. I must  
free her!"  
  
"I believe in you , M-A-S-T-E-R!" Mariko cheered.  
  
"And I shall be the one to subdue her!" Kodachi declared. Then,  
in a dreamy voice, added, "And I simply must find my delightful Ranma-  
darling..."  
  
Sasuke stopped to take breather. "Mistress Kodachi?"  
  
The Domina turned and regarded her tamer, looking at him quite  
differently now, then before she was tamed. "Oh, my Sasuke-darling, are  
you okay? Here, let me carry you!"  
  
Before he could say anything, Sasuke's new pokegirl scooped him  
and cradled him quite close to her bosom. He flailed for a bit, then  
gave up, knowing that Kodachi would get her way whether he liked it or  
not. Last night had definitely proved that. Besides, he was used to  
serving her needs for most of her life, anyway.  
  
"Come, Sasuke, we must not allow ourselves to be lax in this  
quest!" Kuno declared, not slowing down in the least. "For only through  
persistances, bravery, and a noble heart will we-" He stopped and  
frowned. "What be that infernal buzzing?"  
  
Mariko hopped up and down with her hand in the air. "I know! I  
know!"  
  
"Well, spit it out, girl!" Kodachi declared.  
  
Mariko stuck her tongue out at the Domina, then cleared her  
throat and whipped out a pair of pompoms as she went into a cheer  
routine. "It's B-U-Z-Z-B-R-E-A-S-T-S! Yay!" Vigorous jumping followed.  
  
Tatewaki swallowed hard as he followed the bouncing of her, um,  
pompoms. Ten seconds later, one of his four brain cells managed to put  
together the letters she had spelled. He blinked as he straightened. "Ye  
gods, Buzzbreasts!"  
  
Kodachi scanned the skies, readying a rose whip. "Where?"  
  
Sasuke pointed in fear. "There!"  
  
Five naked, insectile pokegirls descended from the sky, the  
buzzing of their rapidly fluttering wings growing louder as they dove.  
  
"Hark, the enemy approaches!" Kuno declared, whipping out his  
wooden sword. "Stand fast to receive them!"  
  
"But, shouldn't we run, Master Kuno?" Sasuke quailed, taking  
several steps back.  
  
"Blue Thunder does not know the meaning of retreat!" Kuno  
bellowed. "Mariko, prepare!"  
  
"I'm R-E-A-D-Y, Master!" the damsel pokegirl gushed, readying  
her pompoms as the Buzzbreasts attacked, right at her tamer. "I'll P-R-  
O-T-E-C-T you!" Mariko leapt in front of Kuno, just in time to intercept  
one of the diving pokegirls, it's long nipple stingers poised to  
puncture. "Eeek!"  
  
Damsel pokegirls are an interesting breed. Usually, they have  
few to no attacks, and overall offensive power is pretty minimal.  
However, this is largely offset by an incredible resistance to damage.  
They can literally walk through fire, be slammed into hard objects, and  
come out of it relatively unharmed. The attacking Buzzbreasts were  
unaware of this, though, due to having little intelligence to begin  
with. The first one readied it's nipple stingers and attacked what it  
presumed to be a helpless victim...  
  
Only to slam into Mariko, bounce off her chest, and end up flat  
on her back and spread-eagled. The second and third insect pokegirls  
followed in a similar manner, creating an intertangled mass of nude  
arms, legs, and moaning on the ground.  
  
"Master, save me!" Mariko cried.  
  
Kuno flew into action, bonking the insect pokegirls with his  
sword. "Take that, foul creatures! And that! And that!"  
  
Mariko glomped onto her tamer. "My hero!" *Smooch!*  
  
"Aauugghh!" Sasuke cringed behind Kodachi as the remaining two  
flying pokegirls attacked.  
  
"Vile insects!" Kodachi hissed, her vine whip lashing back and  
forth between her foes, forcing them apart. "That's it, flee before my  
power! Ohohohoho!"  
  
Sasuke looked up, wondering for a momemt what scared him more:  
the attacking Buzzbreasts, or his Domina. "Mistress Kodachi, they're  
coming back around!"  
  
"Let them!" Kodachi replied haughtily. "None can stand against  
the Black Rose!"  
  
Her vine whip lashed out again as the two Buzzbreasts closed  
from either side, encircling the neck of the one on her right. With a  
mighty tug, Kodachi swung it around to collide into the one approaching  
from her left, sending them crashing into the ground, entangled in her  
whip.  
  
"Well, that takes care of that!" Kodachi declared.  
  
"Well done, sister," Kuno acknowledged.  
  
Sasuke tugged on the sleeve of the Domina's leotard. "Uh,  
Mistress, I don't think it's over."  
  
The group of four turned to see that the sky was filled with  
about a dozen more Buzzbreasts, and they were heading straight at the  
small group. In additon, the five downed insect pokegirls were rising  
once more. However, there was a slightly different look to their eyes,  
and they licked their lips as their gaze fell on the two males. Sasuke  
took a step back, thinking that one crazy pokegirl was bad enough, and  
Buzzbreasts were dumber than a box of rocks.  
  
Some pokegirls you just don't want to tame.  
  
Even Kuno was rethinking his strategy. "While the Blue Thunder  
never retreats," he said, his voice beginning to quaver a little, "I,  
uh, do think our point has been made, and Akane awaits for me to free  
her!"  
  
Kodachi grinned with teeth. "Speak for yourself... Brother?  
Sasuke? Where are you going?" The Domina blinked as she beheld her  
servant/tamer departing in a rapid fashion, her brother and Mariko  
following close behind. Kodachi took another glance at the advancing  
Buzzbreasts, then made her decision.  
  
"Sasuke-darling, wait for meeeeee!"  
  
Five horny Buzzbreasts chased two tamers, a Damel, and a Domina  
through the woods, with about another dozen on the way. In the insect  
pokegirls' minds, mating season was most definitely on.  
  
  
  
  
Ranma looked as the two pokegirls emerged from the underbrush,  
her eyes widening a bit as the pieces of flint slipped from her fingers.  
Akane was carrying a large tree that must have been three feet in  
diameter and nearly twenty-four feet long. Nabiki was helping to carry  
it as well, but Ranma could tell that it was supported mainly by the  
Tomboy. Akane smirked at him as she dropped it, the ground thumping with  
the impact.  
  
"Ready, Akane?" Nabiki asked.  
  
Akane nodded as Nabiki bared her claws. Then the Tomboy turned  
and let loose a mighty karate chop that split a section of the thick  
trunk away, before tossing the enlarged frisbee at her sister. Nabiki's  
arms blurred as the wooden disk passed over head, and four blocks of  
wood landed behind her her, then she braced for Akane's next throw.  
  
In a little under five minutes, the whole tree had been chopped  
into usable firewood.  
  
"Stop gawking, Master," Nabiki told the redhead, smirking.  
  
Ranma's mouth snapped shut. "I wasn't gawking." After all,  
hadn't she done something similar with her father many times before?  
This was just the first time she had seen two girls do it. "And what's  
with this `Master' thing?"  
  
Akane mumbled something unintelligable, while Nabiki merely  
rolled her eyes.  
  
"That's simply what pokegirls call their tamer," the brown-  
furred Kitten explained.  
  
Ranma frowned as she picked the two pieces of flint back up.  
"Well, can't you just call me Ranma or something?" Being called "Master"  
made her uncomfortable for some reason.  
  
The two pokegirls exchanged looks of surprise.  
  
"Um, sure... Ranma," Nabiki replied.  
  
Ranma shrugged and went back to working on getting a fire  
started. Akane sat down a nearby rock and studied her tamer, her  
thoughts strangely disconcerted.  
  
  
  
  
"Egads!" Kuno huffed as he ran through the forest underbrush.  
"Never would I have imagined Blue Thunder's manliness would be so  
desired!"  
  
"This is all your fault, brother!" Kodachi shouted angrily,  
taking a short glance back to confirm that, yep, five horny Buzzbreasts  
were still hot on their trail. "For someone who `doesn't know the  
meaning of retreat', indeed!"  
  
Kuno grit his teeth, as he tried to ignore the repeated cries  
of "Save me, Master!" from Mariko. "I told you, Blue Thunder does not  
run! Time is of the essence if we are to rescue my beloved and fierce  
Tomboy Akane from the evil Saotome!"  
  
"Ranma-daaarling," Kodachi cooed in a dreamy, yet somewhat out-  
of-breath, voice. "How I long to feel your tender embrace once more..."  
She blinked. "Speaking of which, where is my darling Sasuke?"  
  
Fear is a powerful motivator, and Sasuke Sakagure wasn't  
exactly a brave man to begin with. Therefore, despite his shorter legs,  
the adrenaline racing through his system was enough to send him speeding  
way ahead of his three traveling companions, chanting a "Too much sex  
with crazed pokegirls will make Sasuke a dead tamer" mantra under his  
breath.  
  
With no warning whatsoever, he suddenly burst out of the forest  
and slammed on the brakes, coming to halt after twelve feet of skidding.  
Trembling greatly, he glanced over the edge of the cliff precipice he  
had narrowly avoided going over, taking note that it was in fact, a  
loooong way down.  
  
Sasuke wiped his forehead while heaving a great sigh of relief,  
then froze at the crashing sound coming from the direction he had  
arrived from, reminding him of exactly why he had been running in the  
first place. His ears drooped. "Oh no..."  
  
Two pokegirls and a tamer burst out of the woods, heading  
straight for the diminutive manservant. Hands flew to cover faces, but  
it was a futile gesture. Unable to stop, Kuno, Kodachi, and Mariko  
plowed into Sasuke, sending all three over the edge.  
  
Mariko hit the ground first, then her tamer landed on her back  
and began to ride her down the eighty-five degree angled slope like a  
sled, her head first. Kodachi lashed out with a vine whip and snagged  
Sasuke, then landed behind her brother and held on tight as the Damsel  
pokegirl rapidly picked up speed.  
  
Sasuke peeked out through his fingers. "Are we dead yet?"  
  
"Ohohoho! Of course not, Sasuke-darling. Kodachi, the Black  
Rose, shall protect you!"  
  
Sasuke took one look at their predicament, and the rapidly-  
approaching ravine floor, and chose to cover his eyes once more.  
"Mommy!" he whined.  
  
"Excellent work, my faithful pokegirl!" Kuno declared, once his  
own screaming had abated. "There will be an extra portion of pokegirl  
chow for you tonight!"  
  
"Blurg, cough, gurgle, mmph," Mariko replied as she ate more  
dirt.  
  
All things have to come to an end sometime, and in this case,  
that happened when Mariko the sled, met Rock the speedbump.  
  
Four bodies went flying, and caught enough airtime to make a  
basketball superstar jealous, before crashing quite ungracefully into  
the trees on the ravine floor. Had they stopped to think about it, all  
four would have been quite grateful for the miraculous condition known  
as `unconsciousness' when they hit the ground.  
  
Up above the cliff, the dozen Buzzbreasts caught up to the  
first five and, after a short look around, determined that their quarry  
had eluded them. Buzzing in sexual frustration, they headed back to the  
hive. Twice today, their attempts at expanding the swarm had been  
thwarted.  
  
It looked like it was going to be another lesbian orgy at the  
hive tonight.  
  
  
  
  
The fire started small, but thanks to the abundance of firewood  
Akane and Nabiki had provided, it was soon blossomed into a warming  
blaze that warmed the trio gathered around it. In fact, one of the girls  
in particular was getting a bit too warm.  
  
"Nabiki!" Akane exclaimed. "What are you doing?"  
  
The Kitten finished stripping off her shirt, taking her pendant  
off as well. "What? I'm just going to hang these wet things out to dry."  
  
"But..." Akane couldn't think of an appropriate rebuttal, and  
instead indicated the redhead sitting next to them.  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Don't be such a prude,  
Akane." The Kitten slipped off her jean shorts. "You know, you should  
change out of your clothes, too."  
  
Modesty was not exactly an inborn trait in pokegirls. Wild  
pokegirls were always naked, and even after taming, nudity still felt  
more natural to them. On bigger breeder ranches with many pokegirls,  
clothing was an expensive commodity so most went without. To keep warm,  
many pokegirls had fur or other internal heating capabilities, or just  
snuggled with those that did. Most fought with little or no clothing  
anyway, due to it being mostly a hindrance in combat with the many  
varied special abilities.  
  
As a fighting type, Akane usually wore a simple white gi, while  
a Kitten like Nabiki preferred a light shirt and short pair of jean  
shorts, cut to allow room for her tail. Being raised on a small breeder  
ranch with just her father and sister's for company, Akane had grown  
used to having clothes. And since she hadn't wanted to be tamed, that  
desire had translated into a urge to keep clothed.  
  
But since being tamed, and seeing the way Ranma looked at the  
nude form of her older sister, while trying not to look like he was  
looking, a strange feeling of jealousy filled Akane. She crossed her  
arms over her chest. [Pervert! Gawking at my sister like that.]  
  
"Um, do you have to do that?" Ranma asked, squirming a bit  
uncomfortably from where she sat. She tried to concentrate on the fire  
and ignore the nude and furry Kitten, but wasn't completely successful.  
The kettle on the fire was probably warm enough to change back, but she  
wasn't sure that was such a good idea right now, for some strange  
reason.  
  
"What's the matter, Raaanmaaa?" Nabiki inquired, drawing out her  
tamer's name. She was really enjoying this. "We're all girls here, after  
all. And it's not like you haven't seen this before." She gestured to  
her all natural brown-furred form. "Besides, your clothes are all wet,  
too. They'd dry out faster if you take them off. Unless you've got a  
sense of feminine modesty?"  
  
"I do not!" Ranma scowled at the thought that she would have  
anything feminine, and quickly stripped off her shirt to prove it,  
hanging it up beside Nabiki's things.  
  
The Kitten pokegirl smirked. [He's so easy to manipulate, it's  
almost pathetic. And he does seem to be growing used to me, despite his  
fear. This could be easier than I thought.] Further thoughts along this  
line were put on hold, at the sound of an arrogant male voice.  
  
"To pursue the vile Saotome across the lands!"  
  
"To hold my Ranma-darling with my own two hands!"  
  
Akane hid her face in her hands and mumbled, "Oh no..."  
  
"To rescue the fierce Akane and gain her love!"  
  
"To dominate that Tomboy under the stars above!"  
  
"Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder!"  
  
"Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose!"  
  
Tatewaki held a wooden sword out like an extension of himself.  
"Team Bokken is ready and prepared to smite!"  
  
Kodachi smiled evilly while tossing a black flower toward the  
three girls. "Please don't surrender, because I *want* to fight!"  
  
"Yay!" Mariko cheered, bouncing up and down. "That's right!"  
  
Nabiki blinked. "How did they find us?"  
  
"Our hearts were pure and are cause just," Kuno soliloquized.  
"How could we have been led astray?"  
  
"But, Master Kuno," Sasuke added. "Didn't we just follow the  
campfire smoke here?"  
  
"Silence!" Kuno bellowed. "Surely it was only a sign from the  
gods, for they aid me in my quest!"  
  
Kodachi scanned the campsite, scowling. Just to be sure, she  
scanned it again and came up with the same conclusion. She stabbed a  
finger at Akane. "You there, where is my Ranma-darling?"  
  
Akane scowled and pointed to the topless redhead. "He's right  
there, and he's not yours!"  
  
"Surely, you jest," Kodachi retorted. "My Ranma-darling is a  
masculine male, and this is but a cheap pokegirl!"  
  
"Hey, I ain't cheap!" Ranma yelled in outrage.  
  
"Indeed, where is the vile Saotome, so that I might smite him  
for his impertinence?"  
  
"I'm right mmmph!"  
  
"He's away at the moment," Nabiki explained with her hand over  
Ranma's mouth. She ignored Ranma's glare.  
  
Kuno frowned, flipped open his pokedex, pointed it the topless  
redhead, and made a startling discovery. "Another Tomboy!? How does that  
vile Saotome gain not one, but two rare pokegirls like the Tomboy?"  
  
Akane and Nabiki blinked, their thoughts identical. Ranma  
really was a pokegirl?  
  
Kuno looked over at the shirtless Ranma, took note of her full  
breasts, and came to a conclusion. "Of course, I must free this  
excellent specimen of pokegirl from Saotome as well!" Thoughts filled  
with glee at the thought of gaining two Tomboys in one day, Kuno leapt  
across the distance to glomp the female Ranma. "Ah, delightful her  
bosoms be!"  
  
Ranma squirmed in the enthusiastic boy's grip, feeling  
something decidely uncomfortable form in the pit of her stomach. "Ouch!  
You don't have to squeeze me!"  
  
*WHAM!* Blue Thunder took flight, landing by Mariko's feet, who  
immediately bent down and fussed over him. "Master, are you alright? Did  
that nasty pokegirl hurt you?"  
  
"Applying minor pressure of bosoms is a legitimate method of  
determining pokegirl health and fitness," Kuno replied unpreturbed,  
brushing dirt off his hakama.  
  
"I'm hurt, Kuno-baby," Nabiki said, faking a pout. "Don't I  
deserve to be rescued, too?"  
  
Kuno looked over Nabiki's nude furry form, and hmphed. "Though  
thou art merely a weak and common Kitten of simple stock, the Blue  
Thunder would be remiss in his duties if allowed any lowly pokegirl to  
remain with such a cold-hearted tamer."  
  
"Cold-hearted?" Akane seethed. "What makes you think that!?"  
  
"Tis obvious, if such a tamer abandons his pokegirls in the  
wild, then he is no man." Kuno grinned. "Ah, but do worry. For the great  
Tatewaki Kuno is to comfort you! Come to me!"  
  
Nabiki's eyebrow twitched as she trembled almost imperceptibly.  
"Common? Weak!?" Unconsciously, her claws slid out part way. [This idiot  
has the gall to call me weak!? Not only that, but he could spoil my  
plans.] She speared Kuno with a dangerous look, as her voice dropped to  
threatening levels. "For your own health, I suggest you leave. Now."  
  
"I shall not be ordered about by a mere pokegirl," Kuno told  
her. "Be quiet and know your place."  
  
Nabiki clenched and unclench her paws, baring and retracting  
her claws. A modest, but visible, battle aura began to glow around her.  
Ranma took a step back at the sight of an enraged Kitten.  
  
Akane rolled up her sleeves and hopped over the fire to land in  
an attack stance as her sister seethed. "That's it! Either put up or  
shut up!"  
  
"You know, for once I agree with your methods, Akane," Nabiki  
added in a low voice, then turned to Kuno. "Either leave on your own, or  
we'll kick you out."  
  
Tatewaki grinned, hearing only what he wanted to hear, and  
leapt to the attack, his wooden sword raised. "I shall defeat you  
myself, and free you!"  
  
*WHAM!* Akane withdrew her fist as Mariko helped her master up  
once more.  
  
"Ah, a pobee-babble, ben!" Kuno offered, holding his injured  
nose. "A boo-on-boo math. And bif I bin, Abane ith mine!"  
  
Ranma scratched his head. "What'd he say?"  
  
"Stupid girl!" Mariko sneered at Ranma. "He said it will be a  
two-on-two pokebattle. Winner gets Akane." Mariko looked the Tomboy  
over, giving her a distasteful look. "Though why'd he'd want that  
overmuscled twit of a Tomboy is beyond me."  
  
"Excuse me!" Akane nearly shrieked. "You want to take that  
back?"  
  
"Akane is mine!" Kodachi declared. "She will fight no one but  
me. We still have a score to settle, and it's time I prove I'm your  
better once and for all!"  
  
"That's fine with with me," Nabiki agreed, turning toward  
Mariko. "I'm more than capable of taking this bitch down." Yowling and  
hissing, Nabiki leapt at Mariko with claws out while Akane engaged  
Kodachi. The Kitten's senses told her that Kuno's new pokegirl had  
little offensive potential, and should be an easy win.  
  
"I've beat you every single time we've fought before, Kodachi,"  
Akane boasted, sliding into an aggressive attack stance.  
  
Kodachi advanced toward Akane, vine whip at the ready. "I've  
merely let you think you had the upper hand. But, that will all change  
today. Rose whip!"  
  
"Go, Kodachi, go!" Mariko cheered, breaking out her pompoms once  
more as Nabiki attacked, slashing her claws against the other girl's  
side. The Damsel stumbled a bit, but recovered quickly.  
  
Akane sprung to the side just in time to avoid the whip attack,  
then sprinted forward, hoping to close in and finish this fight fast.  
However, Kodachi was faster, and the raven-haired Tomboy received a face  
full of black petals. Sputtering at her temporary blindness, Akane  
attempted to jump back out of range, but the rose vine latched itself  
around her arm and yanked her to the ground.  
  
"I have you now!" Kodachi yelled triumphantly.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute!" Ranma protested, caught off-guard with the  
sight of an angry cat-type girl and her hissing. "I wanna fight  
someone!"  
  
"This is our fight!" Akane shouted back, as she forced herself  
to her feet and pulled on the whip attached to her arm. She grinned; in  
a contest of strength, Akane knew that she could easily best Kodachi.  
She began to reel the Domina in.  
  
Mariko swished her pompoms from side to side. "Come on,  
Kodachi, you can do it, put a little power to it!"  
  
"Shut up!" Nabiki snarled, slashing head, chest, and legs in a  
blur of rapid movement. The fight was infuriating to her; Mariko's skin  
looked soft, but might as well have been steel, as Nabiki could inflict  
no real damage. While the few attacks Mariko did launch were easily  
avoided by the Kitten, the Damsel was mostly ignoring her and cheering  
Kodachi on instead. "If you want to do something to help, find what what  
this girl is made of!"  
  
Ranma blinked. [Help?] Remembering what the boys were doing  
during Akane's fight in the streets and seeing Kuno and Sasuke  
commanding their own girls, Ranma rifled through her pack and pulled out  
her own pokedex. The first rule of combat was finding out what you were  
up against, and so far this little object had been able to supply info.  
Pointing it at Mariko, the data for a "Damsel" pokegirl scrolled onto  
the screen, but it only confused her more. Heavily resitant to damage?  
Cheers power-up other pokegirls? How could that be?  
  
Ranma's head jerked up at Akane's cry of pain. The Tomboy was  
wrapped in vines from her waist up and struggling against her bonds.  
  
"You're losing, Akane-dear," Kodachi taunted. "Can you feel it?  
The venom from my poison lash is seeping through your body. You're  
losing your power, and with it, the match!"  
  
"No!" Akane grunted. But she could feel her strength starting to  
wane as she dropped to one knee.  
  
Ranma grit her teeth. "Tackle her, Akane!"  
  
Somehow, Akane found the strength. She sprung to her feet and  
blurred into action, streaking towards her opponent.  
  
"Mistress Kodachi, look out!" Sasuke cried.  
  
Mariko did a cartwheel and jumped into the air. "Akane's a  
tortoise, Kodachi's a hare; speed's what Kodachi has, so Akane better  
beware! Yay!"  
  
"Hey, pay attention to me!" shouted an outraged Nabiki, who's  
more powerful leap carried her into the air above the Damsel. Giving it  
all she had, the Kitten locked both paws together and slammed them down  
on Mariko's head, sending the other pokegirl plunging into the dirt.  
Nabiki landed and shook her hurt paws, unaccustomed to hitting such a  
hard object, but hoping that had done the trick.  
  
But the cheer's effect had already gone off.  
  
"Not this time!" the Black Rose declared, flipping with ease  
over Akane's less-than-graceful charge. Kodachi twitched the whip,  
sending Akane slamming into the ground.  
  
On the other side, Mariko stood up and shook the dirt off,  
apparently looking no worse for wear. Nabiki merely stared in disbelief.  
  
"It is as the heaven's foretold," Kuno proclaimed. "I cannot be  
beaten!"  
  
"It ain't over yet!" Ranma yelled back. Her eyes flashed back  
and forth between the two battles, trying to think of something. Her  
analytical mind flashed into action, calculating the strengths and  
weaknesses she had seen so far, of all those present. Then she factored  
in the data she was receving from the pokedex. [Think!]  
  
Ranma's eyes flashed in understanding. "That's it! Nabiki, use  
your claws to free Akane!"  
  
Having been given a direct order, Nabiki sprinted at top speed  
toward her sister and Kodachi. There was a flash of light, then the vine  
whip connecting the two girls fell into multiple segments. Akane rolled  
to her feet.  
  
Kuno's eyes bulged. "What!? You cannot do that!"  
  
Ranma snorted. "You mean like you were using that Mariko  
chick's abilites to help Kodachi?" Her attention returned to her two  
girls. "Now, switch opponents!"  
  
Nabiki blinked. "Switch? That's your great idea?!"  
  
"Hey, Kodachi is mine!" Akane yelled. "I can take her! I can  
handle my own fights!"  
  
"Hey, if you wanna win, just do it!" Ranma shouted back, then  
glanced down at his pokedex. "What's this? Pummel?"  
  
Akane growled, then turned and lunged at Mariko, punching her  
over and over again with many strong blows, while Nabiki unleashed a  
fury of swipes at Kodachi. The Damsel and Domina withered under the  
fierce assault, being driven backwards. Kodachi was unable to match  
Nabiki's speed, cat-types being strong against Dominas. And Mariko was  
likewise unable to compete against Akane's fierceness.  
  
"No, I cannot be beaten!" Kuno declared.  
  
After several moments, both Tendo sisters unleashed matching  
rounhouse kicks that sent their opponent's into their respective tamers,  
the quartet collapsing into a heap.  
  
"Too late," Akane huffed with a grim smile.  
  
Nabiki smirked at her unconscious opponent. "You already have."  
  
"We... fight on!" Mariko and Kuno declared, rising  
simultaneously.  
  
Akane leapt foreward, her arm cocked back, her fist glowing.  
"Not likely! MEGATON PUNCH!"  
  
*WHAM!* *FLASH!*  
  
"Akane Tendo and pig-tailed pokegirl, I'll be baaaaaaaack!" Kuno  
called as he and his Damsel soared through the sky to disappear with a  
twinkle in the distance  
  
"Master Kuno, wait for me!" Sasuke cried, sucking up Kodachi  
into her pokeball before taking off after his master.  
  
Ranma blinked. "Whoa, not bad..." She picked the heating kettle  
up off the fire and availed herself of it's contents. His gaze then  
turned to the two girls. "Hey, what's wrong with you guys?"  
  
Akane had dropped to one knee, and Nabiki was leaning on her  
shoulder for support.  
  
"Fight... took quite a bit out of us," Nabiki replied, panting.  
[Argh, this is why I don't like fighting.] She froze as a tingle began  
building up inside her body, working it's way out through her limbs.  
[Oh... Damn.]  
  
Akane felt her sister freeze up. "Nabiki? Uh oh..." She stood  
up and backed away, coming to stand by Ranma's side.  
  
"What's going on?" the pig-tailed boy asked as Nabiki began to  
glow with a luminous ivory aura.  
  
"She's..." Akane started to say as her sister became bright  
white. "Nabiki's evolving!"  
  
Ranma's eyes widened. "What!?"  
  
The Kitten was now enveloped completely in the near-blinding  
light, her form seeming to shift slightly within. Then, with a final  
flash that caused the other two to shield their eyes, it was over and a  
changed Nabiki was left standing as if nothing had happened.  
  
But something had happened. Nabiki's brown fur, which used to  
be a little more than light fuzz covering her body, was quite a bit  
thicker. Her ears were sharper, poking a good ways above her hairline.  
She seemed a bit taller, her facial muzzle was a bit more pronounced,  
and her tail was a little longer as it now brushed the ground,  
twitching.  
  
The pokedex still held in the trembling Ranma's hand, blipped.  
{Catgirl, the all-purpose cultural pokegirl. This evolved form of  
Kitten, possesses enhanced speed, reflexes and senses. Catgirls can be  
fierce fighters, but are also quite playful, and love having their neck  
scratched.}  
  
"Nabiki..." Akane whispered.  
  
The neo-Catgirl dropped to all fours as she stretched, her rear  
rising into the air and her tail twitching while she squeaked out a  
languid "meow", then stood back up. "Weeell," she said in an interesting  
voice, the word rolling off her tongue in a sensous manner. "That was...  
mildly fascinating." She blinked at Ranma, then rolled her eyes. "Oh  
hells, not again. I thought we were mostly over this."  
  
Akane turned to study her tamer. "Ranma?"  
  
Only to see a topless pig-tailed boy backed up a tree and  
trembling, muttering "Ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca" over and over again in a low  
voice.  
  
The Tendo sisters groaned and had identical thoughts. [Our  
tamer is an idiot.]  
  
  
  
  
"Well, I'm ready for bed," Nabiki declared, poking her head out  
of the tent. "Ready to join us, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma sweatdropped from where he sat, on opposite side of the  
fire. "Uh, that's okay. Why don't you girls take the tent, and I'll  
sleep outside?"  
  
Nabiki pouted. "What? Don't you think we deserve a good taming  
as a reward for our performance today?"  
  
Akane waved her hands, making a slashing gesutre across her  
throat in an attempt to dissuade her sister. "Nabiki!"  
  
The Catgirl scowled. "Fine then. But you don't know what you'll  
be missing!" She winked at him, then ducked back into the tent.  
  
Akane breathed a sigh of relief, then stood to follow Nabiki.  
However, a moment of concern caused her to pause before entering the  
tent and turn back to Ranma. "You sure you'll be okay out here?"  
  
"I'll be fine," he replied, waving her off. "I've been roughing  
it since I was little. It's nothing new."  
  
The Tomboy frowned slightly. It wasn't she cared about the  
pervert or anything, but the ground looked awfully hard and  
uncomfortable, and the sky was looking a bit cloudy, too... "Well... the  
tent is big enough for three... if you promise to-What!? "  
  
Ranma smirked. "Oh, I get it! You just can't resist me, can  
you?" Part of him was a little upset about how she had taken control  
yesterday, and this was the perfect way to pay her back. "Sure, you play  
like innocent and not interested, but it's just like when you jumped me  
the other day. I'm just irresistable and... Hey, wait a minute!"  
  
*SLAM!*  
  
Akane walked away, dusting her hands. "Goodnight. And enjoy  
your pillow, Master."  
  
Ranma mumbled about uncute tomboys from underneath the boulder  
.  
  
  
  
  
Later that night, Akane was roused from her sleep by the sound  
of... yowling? Rubbing her eyes, she peeked out of the tent. Her brain  
tried to convince her what she saw outside, was just a dream. But then  
another part of her mind noted the position of her sister underneath  
Ranma was identical to what she had seen last night.  
  
She inhaled sharply, then suddenly wished she hadn't, as that  
slight noise had drawn Ranma's eyes straight towards her. Akane paled.  
"Oh no..."  
  
Ranma leapt into the tent, and Nabiki followed a short time  
later, purring happily.  
  
The blue canvas tent shook quite a bit over the next half-an-  
hour, but proved to be sturdy enough to handle the activities inside.  
  
----------------------------  
  
Author's notes:  
  
KP: Well, I hope that was as good for you as it was for me. I'd like to  
thank my two prereaders, Hpackrat and T. H. Tiger for their help so far.  
  
Shampoo: Shampoo give pre-readers kiss of pre-reading for good help!  
*Smooch*! *Smooch!*  
  
KP: However, I have a condundrum. I was originally going to keep this as  
just a lime fic, but Tiger thinks I should go for full lemon, as a way  
to explore Ranma's sexual development. I haven't quite decided yet,  
though the next part could conceivably contain lemon or lime bits.  
Hpackrat says I should stay with Lime. What do you think?  
  
Shampoo: Shampoo think only good lemon scene is with Shampoo and Ranma!  
Only Shampoo can show Ranma too too good time!  
  
KP: I wouldn't have guessed... Of course, I may do a lime story mainly,  
with lemon sidestories for those who are interested. Anyway, tell me  
your thoughts, and you just may influence the story! Later!  
  
Shampoo: (waves) Bai bai! 


	6. The End of the Road, or Is It?

Find my other fics at: www.geocities.com/kaiphantom2000  
E-mail me at: oddball22@hotmail.com  
  
  
Ranma1/2  
Whole New World  
Chapter 5  
The End of the Road, or Is It? (or, The Interlude Before the Arrival)  
  
  
  
"I challenge you!"  
  
There were few other phrases that Ranma enjoyed hearing, for it  
meant the chance to test his skills against another. Matching wits,  
speed, and strength with an unknown opponent and proving himself  
superior, was the ultimate high for a martial artist. And if he picked  
up a new technique or two out of the deal, so much the better.  
  
IF he was the one doing the fighting, however.  
  
"Ranma!" Akane yelled, frowning. "He doesn't mean you!'  
  
Ranma glanced at his Tomboy pokegirl. "But..."  
  
Nabiki joined in on the frowning.  
  
"This whole world is messed up," he grumbled while relaxing his  
attack stance. Even though the Tendo, err, `girls' had explained the  
concept of pokebattles to him, Ranma still wasn't too happy about it. He  
wanted to be the one to fight, dammit!  
  
They had been traveling for several days, and for the most  
part, things had been calm. They had seen no sign of Kuno, for which  
they had all been grateful, but Ranma thought that things had been too  
quiet. That was part of the reason why he became excited at this latest  
distraction.  
  
"The name is Huguo," the boy who had shouted the challenge  
stated. He looked a little confused at Ranma's actions, but shrugged  
them off. "And I propose two one-on-one pokegirl matches."  
  
"I accept!" Akane declared eagerly, falling into a ready stance  
that was similar to the one Ranma had held a few moments before.  
  
"Hey!" Ranma protested. "He was talking to me!"  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "What, you want to surrender then?" She  
had managed to surreptitiously check Ranma with his pokedex when he went  
female again, based on Kuno's declaration a few days ago that female  
Ranma was supposedly a Tomboy. However, this time the pokedex merely  
showed static, so she shrugged it off as Kuno being delusional again.  
  
"No!" the pig-tailed boy objected strongly to Nabiki's question.  
  
"Then let Akane fight," the Catgirl told him, twitching her  
whiskers and crossing her arms over her chest. [Better her than me.]  
  
Ranma grumbled again while pulling out his pokedex and pointing  
it at the feathered and spandex-clad girl Huguo had released from a  
pokeball. [Pidgy, the tweety-bird pokegirl. Pidgy usually fill the role  
of couriers or messengers, since they posses only average combat skills.  
However, their lightweight body allows for quick aerial movement, though  
this also hinders their resistance to damage.]  
  
"Pidgy!" the pokegirl squawked proudly.  
  
[Great,] Nabiki thought. [Pidgy's are good against fighting  
types. Cat-types like me are better able to handle them. But type  
comparison is not everything, as battle experience plays a role. So,  
who's got more? Akane or the Pidgy?]  
  
"This will be easy," Akane declared with a grin, then charged  
her opponent. "Take this, HA!"  
  
"Pidgy, take off!" Huguo commanded. His pokegirl jumped into the  
air, easily avoiding the pile-driving punch, leaving Akane unbalanced.  
"Now, Peck Her Attack!"  
  
"Pidgy!" the feathered flying girl acknowledged as she dive-  
bombed.  
  
Akane's head vibrated up and down from the multiple-beak  
attacks impacting the back of her skull, before her balance was  
completely overrun and she ended up kissing the ground.  
  
"I'm not out yet!" the Tomboy declared, standing back up and  
spitting out dirt. Her eyes followed her hovering opponent, flitting  
back and forth. Gauging the distance, she leapt, but the Pidgy simply  
flew higher, out of her reach..  
  
"Tackle attack!"  
  
Akane landed, only to get hit from behind as the Pidgy plowed  
into her. The Tomboy was really starting to hate the taste of dirt. "Why  
you...!"  
  
Nabiki covered her face in her paws, embarrassed. [Great, my  
sister is being outsmarted by a birdbrain.] She looked up to see Ranma  
studying the flying pokegirl with an intense look on his face. [What is  
he thinking?]  
  
"Care to give up?" Huguo taunted Ranma. "Everyone knows fighting  
types are weak against flying types. Your Tomboy can't win. Give up, and  
I'll spare both of you further humiliation." He figured this other tamer  
would switch in his Catgirl to beat Huguo's Pidgy, but that would mean  
the Tomboy couldn't come back in for the second match. And Huguo knew  
his second pokegirl, his Alpha, could easily beat a Catgirl.  
  
Nabiki resigned herself to the fact she would have to fight.  
"Ranma, you better switch me in." [I really didn't want to get my claws  
dirty. I just hope I can beat this guy's second pokegirl.] A small part  
of her was looking forward to it with much anticipation, however.  
  
"Is that okay?" Ranma asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't think  
you could do that..."  
  
Nabiki ground her teeth. "Look, do you want to win, or don't  
you!?" The Catgirl's tone and volume caused Ranma to jump several feet  
away.  
  
"No!" Akane countered before her tamer could respond. "I can  
handle this!"  
  
"Oh sure, you're doin' a good job so far," Ranma commented  
sarcastically. It was all the same to him if the stupid girl wanted to  
let herself get beat up. Still, a small part of him couldn't help but  
admire her determination.  
  
Nabiki shook her head as her sister tried yet another futile  
leap for her airborne adversary, who simply flew out of reach.  
  
"Pidgy, quick attack!" Huguo commanded as Akane landed, then  
grinned as the attack connected with the Tomboy's backside. "I got you  
now!"  
  
"No you don't!" Akane declared, twisting and grabbing ahold of  
the Pidgy's arm before it could get away. She gave it a good twist, then  
slammed her opponent into the ground.  
  
"Well, whatta ya know," Nabiki said, surprised. "Akane may  
actually win this. As long as she's got a grip on that pidgy, her  
opponent's agility and speed are negated." The Catgirl remembered her  
sporadic sparring sessions with her sister, knowing from first-hand  
experience Akane's strength and grappling ability. She turned to Huguo.  
"I'd suggest you call your Pidgy back!"  
  
Huguo's grin disappeared almost as fast as an all-you-can-eat  
buffet in front of Genma Saotome. "But..."  
  
Ranma winced and averted his eyes, unprepared for the ferocity  
displayed by the Tomboy as she took her revenge. Several colorful words  
could have used to describe the scene, but only three words could form  
in Ranma's mind: Definitely Not Pretty.  
  
"Uh, Akane, doncha think that's enough?" he suggested.  
  
Akane paused and looked up, an uncomprehending look on her  
face. "Huh?  
  
"Pid.......gy," the feathered pokegirl whined.  
  
"Oh my precious Pidgy!" Huguo bemoaned. "Return!"  
  
Akane cursed as her opponent disappeared in a flash of red  
light.  
  
"I'll get you for that!" the angry tamer yelled, pulling out  
another red and white ball. "Uniko, I choose you!" Huguo's Alpha  
appeared in a flash of white luminescence.  
  
She was furry.  
  
She was naked.  
  
She had a strangely-shaped tail.  
  
She was yellowish with a couple of brown stripes.  
  
Ranma stared at the newcomer, suddenly and inexplicably  
afflicted with both nervousness and fear, as if he were in the presence  
of some unnatural evil. But given how cute and innocent this pokegirl  
looked, Ranma wondered why that was.  
  
"Peekabu!" the new girl announced. "Uniko is ready to fight,  
Master!"  
  
Akane smiled grimly. "Bring it on!"  
  
Nabiki gulped, suddenly glad it wasn't her out there.  
  
Ranma blinked a few times, then shook off his feelings of  
unexplainable evil and activated his pokedex. [Peekabu, the electric  
mouse pokegirl. Peekabu are normally shy, but can be fierce fighters  
when backed into a corner. With their agility and powerful electric  
attacks, Peekabu make loyal pokegirls. However, taming can be a shocking  
experience to the new tamer.]  
  
Akane was undeterred, however, and charged in.  
  
"It's not going to be that easy," Huguo warned. "Uniko, Thunder  
Shock!"  
  
Crackling electricity surrounded Uniko. "Peeeeekaaaa... Bu!!!"  
She thrust out her hands, and the charged-up energy lanced out,  
temporarily connecting herself to Akane by an arc of electricity.  
  
"AAaaAAaaAAaaAAaaHH!" Akane stated as the attack coursed through  
her. She dropped to the ground after it ended.  
  
Ranma blinked. "Woah. Powerful." He then licked his lips as  
thought he caught the scent of barbecue.  
  
Akane coughed once as she rose, her gi somewhat charred. "Is  
that... all you've got?"  
  
"I'll hand it to you," Huguo admitted, talking to Ranma. "You've  
got a tough pokegirl there. But it won't be enough. Uniko, another  
Thunder Shock!"  
  
"Peeeekaaa... Bu!!!" Once more, the crackling energy shot out,  
but this time, Akane managed to dodge to the side so it only clipped her  
right arm. Her sleeve wasn't so lucky, as it detached from the rest of  
her gi.  
  
Akane frowned at the loss of clothing. "And this was my  
favorite! PEEKABU NO BAKA!"  
  
Uniko's eyes widened as her muscles locked up in fright. Akane  
took advantage of her opponent's immobility, and charged in.  
  
"Uniko!" Huguo cried. "Snap out of it and use Agility!"  
  
Akane picked up speed, striking out with her right fist but  
meeting only air as her opponent practically vanished, appearing several  
spaces to the side. Akane lunged again, but Uniko easily dodged,  
blurring away from every attack and eventually ending up several dozen  
meters away.  
  
Ranma blinked again at this girl's abilities. "Dang, that's  
fast."  
  
Nabiki gulped, really glad she wasn't the one in there. She  
wouldn't be able to match the Peekabu's speed, nor take hits as well as  
her sister was.  
  
Akane leapt to the attack, trying to catch the Peekabu by  
surprise, when another bolt of electricity struck her in mid-air,  
sending her tumbling to the ground.  
  
"Hey, come on!" Ranma finally protested, upset at the one-way  
battle. "You think that's enough? This is hardly a fair fight!"  
  
"A Peekabu's Thunder Shock is a perfectly legal attack move,  
sanctioned by all the leagues," Huguo responded, then paused  
thoughtfully. "Except for the sex leagues, of course." He shook his  
head. "But that's a whole different story. If you want it to stop, feel  
free to give up anytime."  
  
Ranma clenched his fists and teeth, spying a glanced at the  
charred Akane, who was shockingly rising to her feet once more. Her gi  
was little more than tatters now, hanging on by threads. Ranma didn't  
want to give up, but he felt uncomfortable enough about letting a girl  
fight for him, taking the blows that he should have been taking. And it  
was worse, because of how badly Akane was getting hurt.  
  
Could he really stand by and let her take more of that  
punishment? "Alright, I'll-"  
  
"NO!" Akane yelled. "I'm not giving up!"  
  
"You stupid girl!" Ranma yelled back. "You want to get beaten to  
a pulp?"  
  
Akane's eyes blazed as she scowled. "I can win! I'm not beat  
yet, and I'm not giving up!"  
  
"Why do you have to be so damn stubborn!?" [Stupid girl,] Ranma  
thought. Couldn't she see that he just didn't want her to get hurt?  
  
"What did you say!?" Akane shouted, her ire reaching the boiling  
point.  
  
Huguo blinked as he witness the verbal sparring match. "Um,  
excuse me..."  
  
"Stay out of this!" the bickering pair commanded him in stereo.  
  
Nabiki covered her eyes with her paw and shook her head.  
[Idiots, both of them. I could have stayed home and waited for another  
tamer, but nooooo; I just had to come along.] She wondered why it seemed  
like a good idea at the time.  
  
"Would you two just shut up!" the Catgirl finally yelled at her  
two travelling companions.  
  
The pair turned to look at her, then each other, then Ranma  
threw his hands up in the air. "Fine then, if you want to get yourself  
beat up, I don't care."  
  
Akane stuck her tongue out at him, then turned back to Uniko.  
"Okay, let's get it on, rat-girl."  
  
"Uniko is not rat-girl!" the Peekabu fumed. "Uniko is electric  
mouse! Take this!"  
  
[Great,] Akane thought, gritting her teeth as she dove to avoid  
the electric attack. [I just had to make her mad. At this rate, how will  
I get close enough to attack?] She rolled to avoid another lightning  
strike, enduring a dirt shower instead. [Think, Akane! I need a  
distraction or something.] She blinked. [Wait a minute... Mad? That's  
it!]  
  
"You couldn't hit the broadside of a barn," Akane taunted,  
standing back up.  
  
The Peekabu blinked. "What you say?"  
  
"You heard me," Akane continued. "Without your electric attacks,  
you're nothing. And even with them, you can barely hurt me."  
  
Uniko fumed. "You... you... PEEEEKAAABU!!!"  
  
"Yikes!" Akane dove, and rolled back to her feet to avoid the  
large thunderbolt hurled her way. She then flipped backwards to avoid  
the second one. Landing, she leapt once more towards her target.  
  
"Not again!" Nabiki exclaimed. "She's an easy target in the air!  
Idiot!"  
  
Ranma furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "I don't think so..."  
  
"This is it, Uniko!" Huguo cried gleefully. "Finish her off with  
a Thunderbolt!"  
  
Uniko braced herself and fired, the streak of electricity  
bursting into the air and striking the incoming object. "Got her!" Then  
she realized there was two incoming objects, and she had only hit one.  
"What...?"  
  
The thrown mallet exploded and Akane flew through the flaming  
remains. Uniko attempted to charge another burst, but the Tomboy landed  
and grabbed her wrists, just as the gathered electricity discharged.  
  
Just because they use electric attacks, doesn't mean Peekabu  
are immune to them. Akane completed a circuit between herself and Uniko,  
frying them both with electricity.  
  
"Akane!" Ranma called, seeing both girls alight with voltage.  
  
As the attack died away, the two pokegirls felt woozy, but  
managed to remain upright. Uniko was unable to free herself from the  
Tomboy's strong grip, however. Akane grinned, then rammed her head  
forward and a resound *Crack!* was heard as the two skulls collided. For  
a second, nothing happened, then the Peekabu dropped like a rock.  
  
Ranma sprinted to their location, as a now completely naked and  
burnt Akane turned to him. "Are you alright?" He was surprised by the  
goofy grin Akane had on her face.  
  
"Told ya I'd beat her," Akane said, giggling crazily. Then her  
eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed.  
  
"Akane!" Ranma put his shirt on her and raised her head  
slightly, checking her pulse. As the Peekabu disappeared in a flash of  
red light, Ranma's gaze met Huguo's and his voice turned accusatory.  
"Are you happy now?"  
  
Huguo looked at him strangely. "Hey, it was a good fight. I  
must say I'm surprised. I didn't think your Tomboy could fight so well.  
You gotta tell me how you do it!"  
  
Ranma ignored him and turned to Nabiki, who had come up to  
check on Akane. "Is she gonna be okay?"  
  
The Catgirl nodded. "She should be, she's tough. She just needs  
to rest. I recommend putting her in her pokeball until we reach the next  
pokecenter. She can be make a proper recovery there."  
  
Ranma pulled Akane's pokeball off of his belt, looking at it.  
"How far is the next town?" The idea of stuffing a girl into such a  
small object made Ranma uncomfortable. He'd rather not do it, though  
Nabiki had put herself into her ball once or twice, and she didn't seem  
to mind. However, he had noticed that Akane seemed to almost be afraid  
of it.  
  
"Juba town is just a few miles down the road," Huguo pointed  
out. "I just came from there. They have a pokecenter."  
  
"I'm goin'!" Ranma picked Akane up, cradling her in his arms as  
he started down the road, running swiftly.  
  
Nabiki growled and took off after him. "Ranma, wait up!" As a  
Catgirl, she was usually faster than most normal humans. However, she  
was surprised that she was only managing to keep up with her Master, and  
she knew that she couldn't keep up the speed for very long since she  
lacked a strong endurance.  
  
"Ranma, you better put Akane in her pokeball!" she called out to  
the pig-tailed boy just a few feet ahead of her.  
  
"I ain't doin' that!" Ranma called back over his shoulder.  
  
Nabiki felt like growling again, but needed to save her breath.  
"But you're only going to make Akane's condition worse at this rate!"  
  
That brought Ranma to a skidding stop, and he stared at Nabiki  
as she came up beside him. "What do you mean?" he asked in a hard tone.  
  
"Akane is weak right now," the Catgirl explained, gesturing to  
her unconscious sister. "It's not good for her to be jostled in your  
arms as you run, and in this weakened state, she's more susceptible to  
catching a disease or virus. Putting her in a pokeball will keep her  
stable and safe until we get to Juba."  
  
Ranma glanced back and forth between the two sisters, the  
warring emotions quite visible on his face. "But..."  
  
Nabiki pressed on. "Come on, it won't her . In fact, it's  
rather comfortable in there. Look, I'll go into mine as well, that way  
you can run faster and get there sooner."  
  
This last bit of logic managed to worm it's way into Ranma's  
thick skull, and he reluctantly relented. "Okay, but only this once, and  
only `til we get to this pokecenter place!"  
  
At Nabiki's nod, he set the unconscious Tomboy on the ground  
and unhooked both pokeballs from his belt. Holding one in each hand, he  
studied them for a moment, then pointed them at the girls and applied  
some pressure. He felt a strange mix of fascination and slight disgust  
as Nabiki and Akane were sucked inside, but it lasted only a moment  
before he fastened them back to his belt and took off down the road as  
fast as he could run.  
  
  
  
  
Akane floated in a void, unaware of either up nor down. Even  
when she opened her eyes, she was still confronted with complete  
blackness.  
  
"Wha-where am I?" she asked in a worried voice. Her limbs felt  
sluggish and her whole body tingled, as if it were half-asleep. "Am I...  
in my pokeball?" The fear in her heart bled into her voice as she  
realized her situation.  
  
While she liked fighting and the power that came from being a  
pokegirl, that was the only benefit as far as she could see. Being a  
pokegirl also meant being tamed, being commanded by another, and being  
confined and imprisoned inside a small object. It meant her fate was not  
her own, but to be decided by another. She would gladly give up her  
power, if it meant becoming one of the few, normal girls out there.  
  
And now she was bonded to a tamer, who was also a jerk and a  
pervert. Of course, deep down she was secretly beginning to like the  
taming sessions, not that she would ever admit it. If only her tamer  
wasn't a jerk.  
  
However, the fear she was currently feeling pushed everything  
else to the side for moment, as claustrophobia took over.  
  
"Gotta get out," she repeated to herself over and over as she  
clenched her eyes shut and flailed. Her voice became begging as she  
struggled. "Please, let me out!"  
  
Her eyes opened again and she gasped.  
  
  
  
  
"She's going to be all right," the Nurse Joy of Juba town's  
pokecenter declared.  
  
Ranma let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, as he  
watched Akane stir and open her eyes in the water-filled rejuvenation  
tube. He was worried when she started struggling and the machine hooked  
up to the tube began beeping, but she seemed to settle down once she  
opened her eyes.  
  
"How long will she be in there?" Ranma asked.  
  
Joy checked the monitor. "Hmm, she recovers pretty quickly.  
Probably another thirty minutes." She turned back to Ranma and smiled.  
"Why don't you wait in the lobby?"  
  
Ranma nodded and, after a last look at the floating girl in the  
tube, allowed the Nurse to escort him out to the waiting room, where  
Nabiki was reading a magazine. Ranma picked a seat on the opposite side  
of the room, causing Nabiki to frown in annoyance. Ranma watched the  
Nurse walk back inside the treatment room.  
  
"Well, at least she seems normal enough," he remarked.  
  
Nabiki smirked. "She's a pokegirl, too. All the Nurse Joy types  
are."  
"Ain't there any normal chicks around here?" Ranma asked in  
disbelief.  
  
"A few, less than 10% of the female population," the Catgirl  
replied. "If a girl isn't born with activated pokegirl genes, they  
normally activate during puberty. Sometimes the genes don't activate at  
all, or a girl is born with so very few or none at all. No one knows  
why, exactly."  
  
Ranma frowned, leaning forward. "So how come it's only girls?  
Guys seem normal enough."  
  
Nabiki resisted the urge to comment on Ranma's normalcy, or  
lack thereof, and instead just shrugged. "You'd have to ask the guy that  
started the Great War, 250 years ago, whoever that was. His name was  
lost in the collapse that followed. At any rate, somehow the Y  
chromosome negates and/or suppresses any pokegirl genetic information."  
Nabiki noted Ranma's blank and uncomprehending stare. "It just doesn't  
happen to guys, and we don't know why."  
  
Ranma's eyes lit up with understanding, even as he looked a  
little annoyed. "So why didn't you just say that, then?"  
  
The Catgirl rubbed her temples and sighed in exasperation as  
she leaned back in her chair, suddenly feeling glad she was in a  
pokecenter. She could feel the beginnings of a migraine coming on.  
  
  
  
  
"Here she is, good as new!" Nurse Joy announced, waking Ranma,  
who had begun to nod off.  
  
He jumped to his feet as the pokegirl nurse led Akane back in,  
looking as good as new with a fresh new gi. Her long hair was even tied  
off with a yellow ribbon on the end. She appeared a little nervous as  
her tamer and her sister looked her over.  
  
"Lookin' good, sis," Nabiki offered as she walked up to Akane.  
  
"Yeah, um, it's nice to see that you aren't charred or nothin'  
anymore," Ranma added. He blinked at Akane's strange look. "What!? "  
  
Akane shook her head, trying to hide her smile. "Nothing. Thank  
you, Ranma."  
  
"Uh, sure." Ranma waved her off. "It wasn't no big deal. Just  
don't go lookin' for me to do it again if you go and do somethin' stupid  
again. Ooof!"  
  
"You're still a jerk," Akane muttered with no real anger,  
removing her fist from her tamer's stomach.  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Well then, if we're all finished with  
the pleasantries, shall we get going? Professor Kao's lab shouldn't be  
too much farther."  
  
"Excuse me, but did you say Professor Kao?" Nurse Joy inquired  
from the front desk.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Ranma confirmed, looking quite eager. "You know  
where he is?"  
  
"He lives about a mile up the mountain," the nurse pokegirl  
answered. "Just follow the east road out of town and you should find it.  
Though it has been over a month since I saw him last."  
  
Ranma leapt into the air. "Yes! I'm almost home!" He turned and  
rushed out the door, waving to Nurse Joy. "Thanks!"  
  
"Ranma, wait up!" Akane called, chasing after him.  
  
Nabiki exhaled in exasperation, taking off after her tamer and  
sister. "Well, here we go again."  
  
  
  
  
"Did you *huff* have to *puff* run the whole mile?" Nabiki  
managed to gasp out as she caught up to her two traveling companions.  
  
Akane was a little short of breath as well, while Ranma  
appeared only mildly winded. The Catgirl came up beside her tamer,  
surprised when he didn't shy away at all from her near-presence. Then  
realized he was too busy gazing at the rather large, one-story white  
house on the other side of the elegant iron-barred gate.  
  
Ranma felt a small thrill. In just a short while, he would meet  
with the guy who brought him to this strange world, and get this  
professor guy to send Ranma back. Finally, all this weirdness would end!  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ranma asked gleefully, before  
he pushed open the gate and dashed inside.  
  
Nabiki nervously grabbed ahold of her sister's shoulder before  
the Tomboy could follow after Ranma. "Wait a minute, Akane." She pointed  
to a nearby sign.  
  
Akane's eyes widened as she read it. "Ranma, wait!"  
  
"YEEEEOOOOWWWCCCH!"  
  
Both pokegirls flinched at their tamer's pained call, but  
before they could investigate, Ranma dashed back out of the yard and  
slammed the gate closed, chest heaving heavily.  
  
"Ranma?" Akane asked worriedly. "What happened?"  
  
He turned and pointed back into the yard. "She... she... BIT  
me!"  
  
Before the two pokegirls could ask who, a furry girl with  
floppy dog-like ears and wearing only a studded collar, pressed up  
against the other side of the gate. She was growling in a low voice,  
while holding two pieces of material in her teeth, one black and the  
other blue and white.  
  
"Is this whole world nuts!?" Ranma yelled to the sky, then  
turned to Akane as she tugged on his sleeve. "What!?"  
  
His gaze shifted to where she was pointing; a sign that read:  
"Beware of Growlie."  
  
Ranma growled. "Why didn't you tell me that before? OUCH!" He  
turned back around to prevent Akane from poking his rear wound.  
  
"Honestly, would you just calm down and let me treat it before  
it gets infected?" Akane told him while taking out a first-aid kit and  
pushing her tamer face first to the ground. She then grabbed the  
waistband on his pants. "Quit struggling!"  
  
"Hey!" Ranma protested while he was divested of his lower  
clothing.  
  
"Ginger, heel!" came a soft, feminine, voice. "Hello? Is anyone  
out there?"  
  
The Growlie pokegirl dropped the fabric and bounded over on all  
fours to a new girl who was clad in a white scientist's frock. Her  
complexion was a pale yellow, but not as full as the Peekabu Akane  
fought before. She also sported a pair of flopping antennae on her head  
and a pair of circular glasses.  
  
"I'm sorry if she startled you, I-" She paused, seeing a boy  
crouched on the ground with his pants down and a pokegirl on top of him.  
"Um, are you okay?"  
  
"Your Growlie took a piece out of him, but it's not too bad,"  
Akane replied as she finished applying a salve. She then slapped a pad  
on him.  
  
"Well, if you like, you can treat him inside," the other girl  
informed them. "We have better medical supplies. Oh, by the way, my name  
is Mary, an A-bra, and this is Ginger." She scratched the neck of the  
dog-type pokegirl. "Ginger's not too intelligent, but she's mostly  
friendly, except to people who are trying to break in."  
  
Akane stood up, closing up the first-aid kit. "Well, I'll all  
finished now. I'm Akane, a Tomboy, and this is Ranma Saotome."  
  
Ranma grumbled something unintelligible as he stood and pulled  
his pants up. But he didn't protest too much, as he did feel a bit  
better, despite the rough treatment.  
  
"And this is my sister... Nabiki?" Akane looked around for her  
missing sister, only to find the Catgirl several yards down the road and  
up a tree. "Nabiki, what are you doing up there?"  
  
Nabiki quavered slightly. "Um, just enjoying the view! Really!"  
  
Akane glanced back and forth between the Growlie and her  
sister. "Honestly. She won't hurt you, Nabiki."  
  
"I'm not scared!" the Catgirl countered fiercely "I'm just  
relaxing! I like it up here. So there!"  
  
Akane turned back to Mary. "I'm sorry about that. I think my  
sister is a little skittish around dog-types."  
  
"I am not!" came the shouted rebuttal.  
  
"I could send Ginger away," Mary offered. Ginger whimpered at  
this. "But she is really quite friendly." As if in response, Ginger  
padded up to Akane, who hesitantly began to pet the furry pokegirl.  
"Won't you please come inside?"  
  
Ranma eyed the dog-girl, then turned to walk beside Mary, with  
Akane and Ginger following. "So, is the professor in?"  
  
"You mean my master, David Kao?" Mary asked, suddenly looking  
excited as Ranma and Akane nodded. She suddenly grabbed two fistfuls of  
Ranma's shirt. "Do you know where he is or what happened to him!? I've  
been so worried, as I haven't been able to reach him for the past two  
weeks!"  
  
Ranma fudged at the sight of an upset girl with tears in her  
eyes. "Er, I... um... that is..."  
  
Akane sighed at the lack of her tamer's coherence. "We thought  
Professor Kao would be here."  
  
Mary promptly released Ranma and turned to the Tomboy, her face  
downcast. "Really? Well, he's not here, and hasn't been for awhile."  
  
"You mean I came all this way and he's not here?" Ranma asked in  
disbelief, recovering from Mary's inadvertent near-hysterical sympathy  
attack. "You know where he is or when he's gonna be back?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I don't," the A-bra replied apologetically as she  
led them inside the house and into the living room. "He sent me away  
nearly two weeks ago with a few artifacts to research. But Anne was  
still with him. Unfortunately, I lost contact with him shortly  
thereafter, and have been looking for him ever since. He's not answering  
his communicator, and I can't reach him telepathically. Of course, he  
could be out of my range, or in an area with too much psychic  
interference.  
  
"So you don't know?" Ranma nearly whined, upset at this setback.  
  
Mary shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. We parted somewhere in  
southern Indigo." She touched her lower lip with her right index finger.  
"Hold on and I'll try to contact him again." She closed her eyes.  
  
Ranma blinked as the girl just stood there, antennae twitching  
every so often. "Um, what's she doin'? Shouldn't she need a phone or  
somethin'?"  
  
Akane elbowed him. "Be quiet! A-bra's are psychic types. She's  
trying to contact her tamer telepathically." She reclined into a nearby  
couch to wait.  
  
Getting into the routine, Ranma flipped open his pokedex. [A-  
Bra, the psychic pokegirl. A-bra's are lightly endowed, but possess  
greater intelligence than most other pokegirls. They also are gifted  
with strong psychic abilities. However, they tend to sleep almost 18  
hours a day.]  
  
Ranma blinked again. "Ya know, this thing is actually kinda  
handy."  
  
Ginger chose that moment to happily pad into the room on all  
fours, and Ranma swung the pokedex her way. [Growlie, the puppy  
pokegirl. Growlies are highly loyal and generally friendly, but are  
fierce fighters when defending their masters. Growlies are highly  
competitive and amorous, but do not get along very well with Domina-  
types.]  
  
Ranma exhaled as he snapped the device shut and sat down next  
to Akane. When Ginger placed her head on his knee, panting happily and  
wagging her tail, Ranma hesitantly reached a hand out and began to pat  
her head. A vaguely disturbing feeling materialized in his gut at the  
sight of an otherwise normal girl acting like a dog, fur and tail  
notwithstanding. Though he supposed that if a girl could be a cat or  
mouse, then a dog wasn't too far out of the equation.  
  
After a few moments, Mary's eyes snapped open, the worry  
returning to them in addition to a new dose of sadness. "I'm sorry, I  
can't seem to contact him." Her head dropped to stare into her lap.  
  
"You really miss him, don't you?" Akane inquired in a gentle  
voice, empathetic to the pokegirl's sadness.  
  
Mary nodded. "I love him. He was constantly researching  
something, that he almost didn't have time to spend with us, but he was  
a very passionate man when he did. It didn't matter, though. Anne and I  
shared his excitement whenever he made a breakthrough, or discovered  
something new. And Ginger was always happy with at least one of us  
around." She glanced up at something only she could see, a gentle,  
melancholy smile appearing on her face. It didn't last long, though; she  
promptly shook her head and glanced over as Ranma sunk back into the  
seat. "Is there some reason you need to see my Master?"  
  
"All I know is that he brought me here through some sort of  
water portal," Ranma explained. "Said he had a cure to my curse. But now  
I just want to go back to where I was."  
  
Akane frowned, feeling oddly upset at that, but pushed it  
aside. It wasn't like she wanted a tamer in the first place, so she  
should be glad to see the idiot go. "What about the recorder?"  
  
Ranma's eyes lit up as he promptly began digging through his  
pack, eventually pulling out the mangled black case. "Oh yeah! This is  
supposed to be the doc's journal or somethin'. But it's kinda broken."  
  
Mary practically leapt out of her seat in excitement and  
snatched the device from Ranma's hands, then hopped over towards a  
computer terminal embedded in the wall. She tapped a few buttons, then  
placed the device inside a panel that slid open. Once the recorder was  
inside, the panel slid shut again.  
  
"Hmmm, Professor's Kao's recorder was an old piece of lostech,"  
Mary commented, typing away at the keyboard. "It was supposed to be  
incredibly durable. What could have done this much damage to it?"  
  
Both Ranma and Akane recalled how the recorder's condition came  
to be, in the hands of a certain doctor.  
  
"Well actually mmmpph!" Ranma flailed as Akane slapped a hand  
over his mouth.  
  
"We don't know," the Tomboy finished for her tamer, then shot  
Ranma a look to shut him up.  
  
Ranma stopped trying to pry Akane's hand off, then rolled his  
eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Akane removed her hand  
voluntarily. "Hmph."  
  
"Well, whatever happened to it," Mary continued, unaware of the  
antics behind her, "it certainly was brutal. It'll take the computer  
some time to retrieve any useful information. But hopefully we'll be  
able to determine where my Master is!" She turned away from the console.  
"In the meantime, you can stay here. In fact, why don't I show you  
around?"  
  
Akane smiled. "That would be nice, wouldn't it, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes again, clearly not as enthused. "Yeah,  
whatever." But he didn't resist as Akane grabbed his arm and pulled him  
along, following as Mary led them out.  
  
  
  
  
Outside and high in a tree, Nabiki glanced toward the house.  
She wasn't scared of any dog-types, no; she was just on lookout. Yeah,  
that's what she was doing! Still, she decided that maybe, just maybe,  
she should just check on her tamer and little sister.  
  
Gathering her courage, she leapt from tree branch to tree  
branch until she was next to the brick wall surrounding Kao's house. Not  
seeing any sign of the Growlie, Nabiki leapt down into the yard. She  
paused for several moments, then decided she was safe.  
  
"Well, that wasn't so bad," she said to herself, pleased at how  
she had conquered her fear. Not that she had any fear, of course. Now if  
she could just-  
  
"Yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap!"  
  
"ROWWWWWR!" Nabiki commented as she shot into the air.  
  
Once she landed from her ten foot leap, she took off like shot,  
the happily barking Ginger hot on her heels. Much like the Catgirl fled  
before the pursuing Growlie, intelligent thought fled before the power  
of instinctual fear and she quickly dropped to all fours. If Nabiki had  
any sort of thought capacity left, she would have noted that she had  
made ten cycles around the house, before spotting the lone tree in the  
backyard.  
  
Heart pounding heavily, Nabiki scrabbled up the tree trunk and  
desperately clung to one of the highest branches. Ginger tried to  
follow, but slid back down after several feet. The Growlie contented  
herself with simple yapping as she playfully trotted around the trunk,  
then settled at it's base when she grew tired.  
  
Up in the branches, some semblance of normal thought returned  
to the skittish Catgirl. Her chest heaved as she rested against the  
trunk, and she wondered what exactly she was supposed to do now.  
  
  
  
  
"And this is the main lab," Mary explained as she led her two  
guests inside the larger room.  
  
The two teens took in the array of tables, artifacts, devices,  
and bubbling beakers scattered across the white-tiled room. To Ranma,  
the entirety of it was completely unintelligible, and didn't interest  
him in the least. Although his philosophy held that, if it didn't have  
to do with martial arts or a way home in the first place, then it wasn't  
worth paying any attention to.  
  
Akane, however, was taking great interest. "What is all this?  
What was Professor Kao working on?"  
  
"A variety of subjects," Mary answered. "A little of this, and a  
little of that. Mainly genetics, but he dabbled in history and  
technology as well. He's managed to help restore several pieces of  
technology lost since the collapse after the Great War. But he's mainly  
dedicated himself to the study of pokegirls."  
  
"Anybody hear that?" Ranma asked, head perking up. Before anyone  
could respond, the trio looked out the windows to witness a pair of  
blurs zipping by. "Um, wasn't that Nabiki and Ginger?"  
  
"Ginger won't hurt Nabiki, will she?" Akane asked, a little  
worried.  
  
"No, Ginger knows Nabiki is a friend," Mary answered, smiling.  
"She's just playing."  
  
"Oh, good!" Akane's sigh of relief was evident. "By the way,  
what are those, over there?" Akane pointed to a pair of giant, clear,  
cylindrical tubes, hooked up to several pieces of blinking machinery.  
"They almost look like rejuvenation chambers."  
  
Mary nodded. "Good call, you're close." She led the duo over to  
them. "These are specially modified chambers. Normally a rejuvenation  
chamber accelerates healing by stimulating individual strands of DNA,  
working especially well on pokegirls. Something to do with their  
genetics. But my Master modified these to affect specific strands of DNA  
for modification."  
  
Akane moved closer, noticing that the tubes were filled with  
water. "Why?"  
  
"Almost every pokegirl carries the genes for several pokegirl  
types," the A-bra explained. "But only one of those is dominant over the  
others, and influences what type of pokegirl a girl becomes. The  
recessive genes govern what kind of secondary abilities a pokegirl is  
capable of learning. My Master was experimenting with identifying and  
activating those secondary genes, trying to separate out what exactly  
made a pokegirl, in order to determine why less than five percent of  
females don't become pokegirls. On a commercial scale, he thought it  
would be possible to change a pokegirl's type, and use that service to  
bring in the revenue for continued research."  
  
"Does it work?" Akane queried in an awed voice.  
  
Mary shook her head. "Sadly, not yet. He's some luck with  
modifying Anne's genes, but he's never had the time to test if fully.  
Theoretically, it should work, however."  
  
"Um yeah," Ranma commented, the entire conversation having gone  
over his head. His stomach chose to rumble then. "Say, got anything to  
eat around here?"  
  
An embarrassed Akane covered her eyes with her right hand.  
"Ranma..."  
  
Mary giggled. "No, it's alright. Why don't I show you the  
kitchen next? And after dinner, I can show you to your room for the  
night?"  
  
Ranma licked his lips hungrily as he followed the A-bra out,  
not noticing the thoughtful look on Akane's face as she glanced back  
toward the chambers. After a moment, the Tomboy trailed after her tamer.  
  
  
  
  
"Ranma?" Akane whispered in the darkness as she lay on her bed,  
but got no answer. She whispered a little louder. "Ranma!"  
  
"Hmmng?" was the muffled reply from the bed next to hers.  
  
"Do you..." she began, hesitantly. "Do you think you'll be able  
to go home... back where you came from, I mean?"  
  
"s'ppose," Ranma mumbled. "dunno..."  
  
"Ranma?" Akane inquired of the darkness.  
  
"jus' go ta sleep, `Kane," he muttered, then turned back over in  
his bed, seemingly intent on following his own order.  
  
But Akane was unable to do so. She just lay there, staring up  
at the ceiling. [So what if the idiot did leave?] she asked herself. [It  
shouldn't bother me. I'll just go back to live at the dojo. And that's  
where I'll stay.] She sighed. [Until the next tamer comes along, that  
is.]  
  
She turned over to her side, just barely making out the other  
bed several feet away. She could also just make out the form underneath  
the sheets, that represented the slumbering form of her current tamer.  
  
[If only I was a real girl, and didn't need a tamer...] She let  
that thought linger for a minute or two, then came to a decision. As  
quiet as possible, Akane got up and put on a robe, slipping out of the  
room and leaving a still-slumbering Ranma behind.  
  
She padded down the dim hallway, finding the set of double  
doors she was looking for. Still creeping as silently as possible, Akane  
quietly opened the door and slipped inside, making her way over to the  
far corner of the room from whence the only the source of light  
emanated: the dull blue glow from the twin rejuvenation chambers, and  
the blinking lights of the attached computers.  
  
She shivered, not the from the cold, but from the life-changing  
decision she was now facing. If she did this, there would be no turning  
back, and there was no guarantee it would even work.  
  
Resolving herself, Akane stepped towards the chambers.  
  
  
  
  
Ranma snorted himself awake, surprised to see it was still dark  
out. He usually slept until morning, unless something dangerous  
triggered his awareness sense. A brief scan of the room revealed nothing  
out of the ordinary. Still the sense that something was wrong continued  
to tingle in his skull until he noticed that Akane's bed was empty.  
  
Telling himself that nothing had happened to stupid tomboy,  
Ranma opened the door and stepped outside.  
  
"Ranma?"  
  
The pigtailed boy turned to see Mary stepping out of a room  
further down the hallway, dressed in a skimpy pink nightgown, but still  
wearing her glasses. "Have you seen Akane?" he asked her.  
  
Mary shook her head, then opened her mouth, but stopped before  
anything came out. She promptly grabbed her head in agony and collapsed  
to one knee, prompting Ranma to come up beside her in concern.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"Pain..." she gasped.  
  
Ranma was confused. "You're in pain?" Was this what he was  
sensing?  
  
Mary shook her head again and stood up slowly, leaning on Ranma  
for support. "No, I sense someone else in great pain." Her gaze turned  
down the hall. "This way!"  
  
Ranma wasted no time in running after the suddenly-sprinting  
pokegirl  
  
  
  
  
Outside, Nabiki sleepily raised her head from where she was  
curled up on her branch. She glanced toward the house and blinked, then  
looked below and frowned. Ginger was still laying at the base of the  
tree, seemingly asleep. Nabiki bit her lower lip, then glanced toward  
the house, growing worried.  
  
  
  
  
"AKANE!" Ranma placed his hands on the glass, feeling the subtle  
vibrations. "What is she doing in there!?" He turned to Mary, who was  
furiously tapping away at the console. "What is happening to her!?"  
  
"I don't know!" Mary nearly shouted back. "Give me a few  
moments!"  
  
"She doesn't have a few moments!" Ranma shouted, turning back to  
the chamber.  
  
Akane was floating inside, a breathing mask in place over her  
mouth and nose. Her eyes were closed, but she was spasming violently,  
giving the appearance of being in great pain.  
  
"From what I can see, she apparently told the machine to remove  
all pokegirl DNA," Mary said at last, frowning. "That's crazy; it'll  
kill her!"  
  
"That's it, I'm gettin' her out of there!" Ranma declared.  
"Stand back!" Winding up, Ranma smashed open the glass with his fist,  
then caught Akane as she fell.  
  
Mary stared as the water fell out and changed Ranma into a  
girl. "What? The water wasn't supposed to do that!"  
  
The now-female Ranma laid the still-spasming Akane down on the  
ground, and did her best to hold her steady. "What's wrong with her?  
Shouldn't she be better now that she's out?" She was disturbed by the  
fact that, every so often, it almost appeared that there were two  
Akane's, as if one was an afterimage.  
  
Mary shook herself out of her shock, switching herself into  
full scientist mode to handle the more pressing situation. She then  
grabbed the portable scanner, running it up and down the length of  
Akane's body. "She's in shock. Her genetic pattern is unstable, and if  
it isn't stabilized soon, her genes will break down and she'll die."  
  
"So how do we fix it?" Ranma asked, impatient.  
  
"She needs to temporarily borrow the genetic pattern of her  
tamer," Mary declared, snapping the scanner closed. She then grabbed a  
hypospray and loaded in a canister, shooting it into the side of Akane's  
neck. After a moment, the seizures began to subside. "Now, you need to  
tame her." She look at the busty Ranma and frowned. "Although, you'll  
need to be male to do so, and I don't know where to begin to change you  
back. The chamber isn't supposed to affect normal humans!"  
  
Ranma looked up, then finally noticed her own change. "Huh? Oh  
yeah. Just get me some hot water and I'll be fine."  
  
Mary blinked. "Curious. This has happened before?"  
  
"It's a curse," Ranma explained. "Look, is Akane going to be  
alright?"  
  
Mary nodded absently. "Yes, she's stable for now, but you have  
to tame her soon to make it permanent."  
  
Ranma grimaced, remembering what taming meant on this world.  
Could he do that to a near comatose Akane? "I don't know if I should..."  
  
"You sure as hell will, Saotome!" Nabiki declared from the  
doorway. She stalked up to him, somewhat glad to see he was holding his  
ground instead of fleeing. "I know you're a chicken when it comes to  
sex-"  
  
"Hey!" Ranma objected, attitude changing from nervousness to  
anger.  
  
"-But you will save my sister," the Catgirl finished. "You are  
not going to hurt her by doing this. In fact, you are only going to help  
her. Am I making myself clear?"  
  
Ranma looked down at the girl she was supporting. Akane did  
practically have her way with him almost a week ago. "Fine! But don't  
blame me if any problems come of this!" She looked around, looking for  
an out, then it came to her. "Um, no hot water, though. Too bad!"  
  
"Oh, that's no problem," Mary replied, then put two fingers in  
her mouth and whistled.  
  
Nabiki paled as the dreaded yapping sound grew louder. "Um,  
I'll see you guys later. There's, um, something I have to take care of!"  
She sprinted to the window and opened it up, diving outside just as  
Ginger came barreling inside the doors.  
  
"Ginger, stop!" Mary commanded, then pointed to the water on the  
floor. "Ignite! Warm up this water and splash Ranma!"  
  
Ginger nodded, then placed her paw in the water, wincing  
slightly. Ranma was amazed as the water on the floor began to bubble,  
then Ginger splashed the pig-tailed girl, reverting Ranma to his birth  
gender.  
  
"I assume you know where your room is?" Mary inquired.  
  
Ranma nodded as he picked Akane up, cradling the unconscious  
girl in his arms. Without saying another word, Ranma carried Akane out,  
disappearing through the set of double-doors.  
  
Mary then turned to the Growlie. "Good girl, Ginger!" Her voice  
dropped to a sultry tone. "As a reward, how about spending the night  
with me?"  
  
Ginger yipped happily, tail wagging.  
  
  
---------------------------  
Author's notes:  
  
Kai: Boy, is it me, or are these chapters getting longer?  
  
Shampoo: It not just you. But Shampoo hope you make long chapter for her  
lemon scene with Airen!  
  
Kai:: Ah, speaking of lemon scenes, I'm planning to do them as  
sidestories. So the people who want to read a lime-only story can easily  
avoid them, while others who want to, can, well, enjoy them. Any  
important story bits will be re-covered in the main story, so those who  
don't read them can catch up on what happened in the following chapter.  
  
Shampoo: (threatening) And...  
  
Kai: Yes, you'll get your lemon seen, Shampoo. But I won't say much more  
at this point!  
  
Shampoo: Stupid author-boy better write Shampoo/Airen lemon, and not  
with stupid duck boy...  
  
Kai: *ahem* Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for the first lemon  
sidestory, and then look for Chapter 6, where Ryoga finally shows up!  
What will his relationship be with Ranma? Does he have any pokegirls?  
Will he die of a nosebleed? These questions and more, answered next  
time!  
  
Shampoo: (waving happily) Bai bai!  
  
Thanks to Hpackrat and T. H. Tiger for prereading! 


End file.
